The Little Mermaid An Unfortunate Fairytale Fan-fiction
by graystripemkc
Summary: a fan fiction based on the lovely series by Chanda Hahn. Mina completes the tale The Little Mermaid by Hahns Christian Anderson in this fan fiction though fair warning- I wrote another fan fiction where this happens but Mina finds a way to bring back Jared- so yeah the warning is Jared is here. I hope ya'll like it. Review please I like to hear peoples opinion
1. Chapter 1

_The Little Mermaid_

Mina dragged herself onto nearest part of the shore. Actually, more like _clawed_ her way onto the nearest part. The waves battered against her. It was taking forever, it seemed, since the waves were only pushing her back into the sea. Finally, she made it on land; her lungs gasping for air, relieved she wasn't choking on saltwater any longer. When her breathing slowed to a semi-normal state, she lifted her head a bit more to get a look at her surroundings. She was at, what it looked like, the bottom of a steep, rocky incline, which gave way to a small beach area. Judging from the way that the rocks were different colors, and that almost all the sand was wet, during high tide, the place was likely completely submerged in water. Knowing this, however, didn't exactly motivate her to move.

She stared off into the distance, reflecting on the events that had unfolded. All of sudden, she felt incredibly tired, and she let exhaustion get the best of her. Mina collapsed onto the warm, sandy beach. Her body ached. She was breathing slowly. She wasn't certain, but she was partially convinced that she was stuck in the Little Mermaid tale, not a Grimm Fairytale. No pun intended, because, truthfully, it _was_ grim. _I mean, geesh. Ariel commits suicide and murders the prince. Talk about issues_. _She should have had her own warning label. Like CRAZY PYSCHO stamped onto her chest or something_. But maybe the Story was running out of ideas. Mina eventually forced herself to get up and at least move farther up along the beach. Though when she tried to get up, her legs wobbled. They were like Jell-O. No -worse- _noodles_. Thin, wimpy noodles, unable to support her. She collapsed onto her knees. Mina crawled up the beach, relaxing, thinking about the Story.

It all started about a month ago...

It was a month before Homecoming, and it had been exactly two weeks since Jared and Mina agreed to "see other people", but not _actually_ see other people. And three weeks since Mina had brought back Jared. Everything seemed to be going back to normal, though. Like it had been before Jared died. Lunch was going smoothly. Jared and Mina were sitting across from one another. Ever was babbling to Jared, but he wasn't really paying attention to her. He and Mina had been having a silent conversation. They'd shared stolen glances and smiles the whole lunch hour. When Nan asked Mina what she was going to do for Homecoming, Mina, who hadn't been paying attention, was confused for moment.

"Oh, no. I, uh-." Mina panicked, though she didn't know why.

"Well, I think we should go!" said Nan enthusiastically, "We could get dresses, and get our makeup and nails done. And, oooh, shoes! We can't forget shoes!" She reminded Mina, winking.

"Here they go again." Brody chuckled.

"Shut up." Nan replied, looking off to side with a big grin. Brody and Nick shared a look, rolling their eyes as they went back to talking about, what Mina guessed, was water polo.

"Come on, Mina! What do you say?" Nan asked.

"I don't know, Nan. I mean, I don't know about this. I'm not sure if we could afford that, and I don't even have a date." Mina stammered.

"I'm sure we could find something adorable and cheap, Mina. And we can do our hair, makeup, and nails at home. And shoes, well, I'm sure we can find an inexpensive pair. Besides, we all know we'll just kick off our heels the minute we get to the dance anyway." said Nan, squeezing Mina's arm.

"And for a date, well, I'm sure someone wants to go with you! I mean, who would not want to go with my gorgeous best friend?" She squealed, "I'm sure Brody knows some single guys who would jump at the chance to take you."

At this, Mina visibly paled, remembering the last time Brody introduced a "friend" of his. It was because of that _one_time that Mina never wanted to go on another triple date ever again. As the color drained from Mina's face, Jared stiffened, making Ever notice big-time.

"You know- Ever, Jared, and Nick- ya'll should come too! Like, we should go in a group." continued Nan, "I mean, aside from the total bust of a movie and _Reid_, I think that the date went over pretty well."

At this, the others looked down at their lunch trays, deliberately not making eye contact with each other._Oblivious_, thought Mina. Just purely oblivious to the truth about the first triple date. Luckily, the bell rang, ending lunch.

"This _so_ isn't over, by the way, Mina." Nan told her, taking Brody's hand as they walked away.

Nick laughed. "See you guys later." he said, getting up and throwing away his lunch.

Ever grab Jared's arm possessively. "Walk with me to class?" She asked, hopefully. Jared looked at Mina, who cocked an eyebrow, waiting for his response. He looked uncomfortable and torn. Not wanting to hurt Ever, but really wanting to be alone with Mina.

Mina wished she could be possessive and give Jared that look that said, "go with her, and we'll have issues", but she couldn't. Mina wanted to, but couldn't do it.

She got up and said, "See you two later." Noticing Jeremy, she decided to go and catch up with him. Jared must have seen her looking at Jeremy. As Mina walked away, he jumped up.

"Mina, wait!" Jared said. As he had gotten up so quickly, Ever almost fell over. Mina looked at the scene, amused by Ever's look of annoyance and surprise. Jared was oblivious, of course.

"I'll walk with you." He informed Mina, as he snaked his arm around her and steered her towards the opposite direction of her class, which just happened to be _away _from where Jeremy was. Leaving a furious Ever behind them.

Once out of the lunchroom, Mina laughed. "What's so funny?" Jared asked.

"And you say you don't get jealous." she snickered. He looked annoyed. "I'm _not_. I was just debating on whether I should walk with you or Ever."

She chuckled, "Of course you were, Jared."

He looked like he wanted to argue, but Mina- after a quick look around to make sure no one was watching- kissed him on the cheek. Slipping her hand into his and lightly squeezing it, Jared relaxed and smiled. They talked the rest of the way to Mina's class. Jared made them take the long way around, which Mina didn't mind.

Since they were secretly dating, she and him didn't get much alone time to just relax and talk about their day, or really anything else. It wasn't like she had a cellphone she could text him or call him on. Before he let her go in class, Jared kissed Mina goodbye. They made plans to see eachother later that night. Mina still felt high from her kiss with him. That was, until she saw Ever, who looked disgruntled.

"Hey, what are you doing here?" asked Mina curiously. Ever didn't have English with her.

"I got switched into this class." she replied bitterly.

"Oh, okay then."

The class went awkwardly, you could say. Mina felt Ever's gaze boring into her skull. Mina shifted uncomfortably. Ever had never been exactly "simpatico" with Mina, but since the night when Jared took Ever's seam ripper, well, whatever good feelings she had for Mina- which she suspected was about .01%- had disappeared. Then Jared died...and, well, Mina thought she had won some good graces with the pixie when she brought him back. But it only seemed to make things worse between them, unfortunately. She was proven correct later that day, at her locker, before school let out.

Mina shut her locker door, wondering whether or not she should wear something special that night to meet Jared. _We can't go out anywhere, since it has to be a private affair, but...EVER? _Mina jumped, startled from her inner monologue. The pixie was standing right behind her locker door, and it scared Mina a bit. She hadn't realized she was there.

"Oh, hey... Ever, what's up?" Mina asked.

Ever narrowed her eyes at her, "Let's get one thing straight, human. Jared is _mine_."

Mina scowled, "What are you talking about, Ever?"

"I _mean,_ there is only room for _one_ girl in Jared's life. Get it, Gimp?" She snapped, her eyes blazing.

Mina took a step back. "Ever, I don't understand?" She decided on playing dumb, not wanting to tip Ever off, in case she knew about her and Jared.

"It will _always_ be _me_ and Jared! You can't have him! You might think you're special to him, Gimp. But, believe me, you're not."

_Really?_, thought Mina, _Well then, why wasn't he sticking his tongue down your throat earlier, after lunch? Or, better yet, why wasn't he planning on meeting you later tonight?_

"Let's face it, Gimp. Eventually, you're going to die screaming and writhing in pain, just like your own Daddy did, and his ancestors before him."

At this, Mina's eyes bulged, and she started to seethe in hot fury.

"You're probably only going to live long enough to produce an heir, and then _you'll_ die. And it will pass on to Charlie, who will die the same agonizing death you did. Only, he'll likely _also_ produce an heir, which will have to wait for your own child to die…"


	2. Chapter 2

Mina was in a thorough state of shock. She had completely blacked out and couldn't remember a thing. It wasn't until she was washing Ever's blood off of her hands that she realized what she had done. Mina had punched Ever in the face and broken her nose. The whole hallway grew silent, everyone stopped what they were doing. She looked down at Ever heatedly.

"Don't you _ever _say anything like that again, Ever!"

Ever was crying and holding her nose. Jared stood behind them, shocked and silent. He showed up to see Mina punch Ever. When the pixie saw Jared, she immediately went to cling onto him

"Jared!" She shrieked, "Look at what she did to my nose!" She was crying.

Jared looked at her. "Mina, what happened?" He asked quietly.

"What _happened_? She punched me in the face!" Ever whined, grabbing his arm once again. Mina gave him a look which she hope translated to "you take her side, and we're through".

Mrs. Colbert, hearing the commotion, pulled Ever off of Jared. It all happened fast after that. Mrs. Colbert told Mina that she wanted to see her tomorrow before school, then sent her home immediately. Once Mina got home, her mom already knew and demanded answers. When she told Sarah what Ever said, word-for-word, her mom sat down.

"Well, as a responsible parent, I'm telling you that that was wrong, and two wrongs do not make a right." Mina hung her head . "_But,_ as your mother, I say, right on!"

Mina looked up and smiled

"Wow. That Ever has it out for you, huh?" Her mother continued.

"Yeah, she does." Mina mumbled, remembering Jared's face. She didn't get a chance to see him after the incident. Mrs. Colbert demanded that Jared stay back.

"Honey, why was she demanding that you stay away from Jared?" Her mom asked tentatively

"I don't know. I guess she still holds me responsible for Jared's death." Mina answered, not exactly lying. She hadn't told her mom about her and Jared. She was scared that her mother wouldn't approve. Even though, if anyone was to be her protector, it would be Jared. Her mom once said that the Story would find her Prince Charming. And Mina secretly dreamed that he would be an actual prince too.

Her mother nodded. "Alright then. Please, let's try to not get into any more fights, okay?"

Mina nodded. "And, you know, if there is anything you want to say, you can tell me." Mina nodded to her mother once again.

Sarah smiled, "Go on. Get out of here" she said, "Serious moment over."

Mina laughed. "Yes ma'am." She then got up and hugged her mother. "Thank you, mom, for understanding."

"You're welcome, sweetie."

Mina walked upstairs and into her room. She closed the door, leaning back against it. Mina then closed her eyes, trying to think of happier things.

She looked over to see her latest art project. It was a mural she was painting on her wall that portrayed all the fairytales she had completed before, as well as the ones she had yet to complete. Her brushes and paints were neatly arranged on the floor. Mina hadn't opened them yet. Jared had bought them all for her, specifically for this project.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3 Of The Little Mermaid

One weekend, Jared had come over to help them unpack and offered to do house repairs. Sarah put him to work immediately. He later came up later to help Mina "unpack" her things. Her room was huge. Way bigger than her old one.

"Wow." said Jared, "Your room is so big and _white._"

He was right. It was insanely white, like the kind you might see in an insane ward. Mina laughed; she had been in the middle of unpacking her art supplies.

"So, what color do you want to paint your room?" He asked her.

"I don't know." she answered, looking around. "Maybe I could paint giant mural instead of painting my room one color." Mina laughed a little at the thought.

He walked over to where she was standing and wrapped his arms around her. Jared kissed her cheek, then laid his head on her shoulder. "You should do that." he murmured.

"What?"

"I said 'you should do that'." He replied, looking around the room.

"No I couldn't-."

"Well, why not?" He asked her, turning Mina around to face him with his hands wrapped around her waist.

"Well, I- I... it wouldn't look nice, and I'm not that good at painting." Mina stammered.

Jared smiled, "Yes you are." Cupping Mina's face with his hands, "You're amazing at whatever you set your mind to."

Mina sighed. God, she had the best boyfriend in the world. Jared was handsome, sweet, romantic, funny, had super magical powers- and to top it all off- he was a prince. She understood why Ever didn't want to lose him. But, _hey_, he was hers now. The pixie just needed to accept that.

Mina changed into some paint splattered shorts and a beige sweater. She decided to start working on her mermaid.

"Mina?"

She jumped and turned around, dropping the paint brush and causing the wet excess paint to splatter onto the floor. _Jared_. She went to go and hug him. As she did, she accidentally stepped on the paint brush. It rolled underneath her, causing her to lose her balance.

She would have fallen face first onto the floor if Jared hadn't caught her.

"Hey." she said weakly

"_Hey._" He replied back. Mina blushed, embarrassedly looking up at him, though she could tell something was wrong. He looked like he had somehow aged in the past few hours.

"Jared, are you okay?" She asked him.

"Mina, we need to talk." He answered solemnly.

Mina's heart sunk right away. 'We need to talk' was never a good sign.

"Jared, are you breaking up with me?" She squeaked, her voice filling with despair.

"What? No, Mina. No." He replied softly, holding Mina's hand, "What we need to talk about is the fact that you punched Ever."

"Oh my God! You _are_ taking her side!"

"No, Mina! Listen to me, _please_. Before you jump to conclusions- I'll admit, I understand why you thought the whole 'breakup' thing - but Mina, listen." he implored.

She nodded and led him over to her bed. He lied down, and she lied beside him.

"Mina, tell me what happened." He said gently, wrapping his arms around her.

Mina took a deep breath and began to tell Jared what happened, from the beginning. He waited patiently, not saying a word while Mina told him what had gone down between them. When she finally finished, she let out her breath and turned towards him.

"Jared?" She asked him tentatively. He was silent. Like, _dead_ silent.

"_Jared?_" She asked again, her voice barely audible. She couldn't stand it. He was just too quiet. "Look, I'm sorry! I probably shouldn't have punched Ever, I know..."

Jared looked at her. "She said all that?"

"Yeah, she said all that and I lost my temper. I'm so sorry, Jared! Forgive me, _please_." she begged. He looked at her, his eyes a storm of emotions; anger, confusion, and remorse.

"Why should _you_ be sorry?" He asked, looking slightly stunned. Mina only stared at him.

"Mina, she said all those awful things to you." he said, leaping off the bed and pacing in front of her. "God, what the hell was Ever thinking? Like, what, did she think you were just going to sit there and take all of that?" He sputtered. Mina watched him as he paced.

"So.. You're not mad at me?"

"No! No, no, no, no! I'm not mad at you! Why would I be angry with you?" he asked her, walking back to Mina and cupping her face.

"Because, I broke Ever's nose..."

"No. I'm actually happy you stood up for yourself. That was uncalled for. Ever should _never_ have said that to you." He told her.

"Jared, are you and Ever a...?" She managed. He looked at her uncomprehendingly. "An item?" Mina finally finished. She didn't know why she asked that or why she brought this up, but she needed to know.

He laughed. In fact, he was laughing so hard, he had to wipe tears from his eyes.

"What's so funny?" Mina didn't see how the question was all that humorous.

"Me and Ever are _not_ an item." he said, pushing a strand of hair that fallen out from behind her ear. Mina snuggled against his hand and kissed it. Jared's heart skipped a beat as she did that.

"Ever and I...we were- it was a long, long, long time ago- and, _well_, all you need to know is that we haven't been serious for centuries now." He broke off, trying to reassure Mina.

But, instead, his statement left her with only more questions. "Jared.."

"Mina, no please..." He begged, "I wasn't a good guy back then. I was dumb and immature... I'm a better guy now, and I would rather you just not know about who I was back then."

Mina looked at him and sighed, but nodded.

"Thank you, Mina" he said, kissing her on the cheek. He sat back down on the bed, resting his head on her shoulder. "You smell good, by the way." he added.

Mina laughed. "_Do I_ now?"

"Yeah." was all he said.

She turned her head to look at him, "Tired?" She whispered.

He nodded. She sighed, a little disappointed. She knew he had to be stressed out with everything that was going on.

"Would it be better if we hung out some other time?" She asked.

"No." he replied, lifting his head and pulling her towards him, lying down on the bed. Jared pulled Mina close, wrapping his arms around her. "I'll talk to her tomorrow" he murmured.

Mina sighed, "Okay. But promise me you won't make it too big of a deal. I just don't want her hating me even more than she does now. I don't want to make things worse."

"I promise I'll try not to." he said earnestly. Mina sighed. This _so_ wasn't going to go over well, Mina thought. No matter what Jared did, Ever would always hate her. And Jared taking Mina's side would only make it worse. But maybe Jared talking to the pixie would make her go back to silently hating Mina?

Jared kissed her, distracting Mina from her inner monologue. She rolled over and propped herself onto her right elbow, her hair falling all around her. Jared reached up to tuck it behind her left ear then pulled her on top of him. Coming back up for air, Mina saw that Jared was smiling.

"With your permission, Miss Grimm, I would like to stay here a little while." he informed her, starting to kiss her neck. Mina shivered, enjoying every minute of it. She laughed.

"That depends." she answered, her breath hitching towards the end.

"I'll take that as a yes." he said, grinning.

Mina woke up with Jared's arms around her. She looked at the clock. It was 3 a.m. She sighed and snuggled closer to Jared. Before she went back to sleep, she looked at the mural she had finally completed. Mina had it set up from right to left- a gigantic forest that portrayed the stories Hansel and Gretel, Red riding hood, and then transitioned to Snow White in her glass coffin, then into a giant castle scene.

She focused mainly on the tower window, looking in to see Sleeping Beauty. When the time came, she'd add more. But finally, at the very end of the mural, she had created a coastline leading out to the ocean.

Underneath the ocean waves, she was painting a mermaid. The creature was perched upon a rock, crying and hugging herself, her tail caught on a ghost net. Mina stared at the mermaid for a little while longer before finally falling back asleep.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

*** Authors Note: I'm experimenting here with this one smut scene, I know some people don't like smut and I know some people do. I tried to create a happy medium. I would like to hear feed back on this chapter though, if its I guess even, meaning half of the readers like it, the other half don't. I'll be more than happy to create a solution though. I hope this made sense...R&R...just don't be too brutal...**

Jared woke up. He looked over at the clock. It was 5:00. Jared smiled. _Perfect_, he thought sleepily. He could catch a few more minutes of shuteye with Mina before...

He rolled over to find that he was alone..._Awkward,_ he thought. He sat up, looking around the dim room, his eyes adjusting to darkness. Jared saw her at her dresser looking for a shirt to wear. He frowned. She was wearing more clothes now than she had when they finally decided to get some sleep last night.

"Why don't you come back to bed?" he asked, making a feeble attempt to beckon her back to him.

She turned around, "I can't. My mom is driving me to school, remember? And Mrs. Colbert wanted it see me..."

"I'll drive you." he said, climbing out of bed and wrapping the blanket around him. It was a tad chilly, he thought, as he walked up behind Mina. Jared wrapped her up in the blanket with him. He rested his head on her shoulder, kissing it. He heard Mina sigh. This time, a little more urgently, he tried to steer her back to the bed. But she resisted.

"How would I explain to my mother that you're here if you're supposed to _come_ _and _pick me up?" She asked, turning around to face him. She kissed him and Jared kissed her back. He was kissing her slowly, deliberately pausing in between each kiss, answering her question. So it ended up sounding like...

"I *kiss* could *kiss* sneak *kiss* out* and *kiss* wait *kiss* A *kiss* few *kiss* minutes?" *kiss* He pulled her into him, grabbing her ass. She gasped, her mouth inches away from his. She smiled.

"I guess I could ask." She said as she leaned in close to him, as if she was going to kiss him. Jared leaned in too, but at the last moment, Mina threw her hand up, blocking her lips. Jared groaned in frustration and Mina laughed.

"You evil, evil woman." He murmured. If he couldn't kiss her mouth, _well,_ there were other places he could kiss. He cocked his head, moving Mina's hair. He kissed her collarbone and neck. Mina tilted her head back in response.

"Mom, Jared offered to give me a ride to school. Is that okay?" She yelled. Her mom yelled something back, asking why. He continued kissing her neck, and her hands were in his hair. She was having trouble concentrating. She wanted to push him away, but didn't want him to stop either. Finally, after much debate, her mom relented. Mina and Jared smiled at eachother.

"So, does that mean we can go back to bed?" he asked, picking her up. Her legs wrapped around his waist. She giggled and pretended as if she was thinking about it.

"Well, I guess we could." She answered, looking at the clock. It was 5:15. "For maybe a couple more minutes..."

"45 minutes." He said, kissing her neck, causing her to sigh again.

"10 minutes. Remember... Mrs. Colbert...I need… to- to be there early." She murmured, her voice charged with desire, forgetting how to talk coherently.

"30." he argued, nibbling her ear and carrying her to the bed.

"15." Mina said again, sounding out of breath. The blanket that covered them fell to the ground.

"20." he insisted, laying her down on the bed. He bit her and she moaned. He almost lost it. He wanted her so badly. _Please, just give in_, he thought.

"Fine! 20." she said, moaning. Jared smiled and kissed her passionately. "So... what are we going to do for 20 minutes?" she asked, smiling up at him.

He smiled back and looked down at her "A lot."

Mina held her breath. This was scary. But the look on his face while seeing her in just her jeans and her bra...Well, she had been looking for a shirt to wear for school, after all... The look told her that it didn't matter physically-wise. Her bra or underwear could have been lacy, neon green, or polka dotted.

It didn't matter. He loved her, and the look in his eyes just kinda said it all. They were filled with a storm of lust, desire, mischief, amazement, and tenderness. But she felt cherished, wanted, and adored when he gave her that look.

"I've got a few ideas…" he whispered against her lips, causing Mina to shiver as he wasted no time doing what he wanted to do.

He kissed her hard. Mina tried to wrap her arms around him, but he stopped her, pinning her wrists above her on top of the pillow. He smiled and cocked his head to the side, kissing her again.

Her chest rose sharply and fell back down on the bed, much like a wave at the beach washing up upon the shore. She felt a hot, almost tingling feeling, in her stomach. It was similar to the feeling of your foot falling asleep, but without the pain.

He stopped kissing her mouth, and began to kissing her jawline. He kissed her neck, deliberately going at a slow pace to drive her crazy. He heard what sounded like a mix between a growl and a cat's purr, escape her throat. His mouth lingered on her neck for a few seconds before he kissed another spot on her throat.

He still had Mina's hands pinned above her as she tried to break free. He grinned against her neck. He loved how he could drive her insane like this. He wanted to be the only one who could make her feel this way.

He kissed her chest, his cheek brushing the side of her bra. He kissed the skin that was exposed around it hungrily. Then Jared released Mina's wrists, which went flying to his head.

She ran her hand through his hair, getting tangled in it. He brought his own hands down on the bed to steady himself before returning to his relentless kissing. He stopped what he was doing for a moment and looked at Mina. Jared almost got lost in her eyes the minute he did though. Her eyes reflected a certain kind of seductive quality to them. They were filled with lust and passion. He felt her stare magnetically pull him back to her.

He smiled and leaned back down to kiss her forehead, then her nose, and finally, her lips. He took one hand and slipped it underneath Mina's head, raising it slightly, their mouths breaking apart. Raising her head caused her to lift her shoulders up off the bed. Jared broke off and kissed her shoulder blade and lifted his head to look at her. "I love you." he whispered.

"I love you too." she whispered back.

Mina smiled and sat up, causing Jared to straddle her. She lifted a hand to wrap around the back of his head, pulling herself close to him as she kissed him. Jared wrapped his arms around her, practically squashing her against his chest.

He laid her back down on the bed, kissing her along from her jawline, to her neck and collar bones.

By now, he was kissing her stomach as he made his way to the hemline of her jeans. She sucked her breath in, wondering what he was going to do. She became nervous...

_What time is it?_ she wondered. "_J-jj-ared_..." She moaned, her voice sounding ragged. Jared became even more turned on than he was before.

"Hmmmmm…" was all he could muster.

"What time is it?" her voice slightly returning to normal, "I'm going to have to get ready for school soon…"

_"_Well, then you might want to change out of those jeans." He replied lustily, beginning to unbutton them. He stopped briefly and glanced at the clock.

NO! He thought miserably. It was 5:45. Defeated, he put his head down on Mina's hips. "Jared?" she asked, sounding concerned as she propped herself up.

"Never mind, I guess the pants stay on." He answered ruefully. Mina sat up, her legs spreading open. He just stared at her pants, cursing at time and at her jeans- the only things that separated him from her...

"I guess you're right." she replied, breaking his concentration, and his inner monologue.

"Yeah, I guess so." he said dejectedly. Mina smiled at him, amused.

"Oh, don't be too upset!" She teased as she swung her leg over Jared and got off the bed, "I mean, hey, you got ten extra minutes!" She tossed him a particularly playful smile.

Jared narrowed his eyes at that. "Evil, evil, _evil_ woman." he griped, shaking his head and lying it back down on the bed. He heard her laughing at him as she walked off to her bathroom to get ready.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Mina was sitting in Mrs. Colbert's office. She had to explain to her what happened. Mrs. Colbert had decided to try and convince the principal to give Mina a 4 hour d-hall, instead of suspension. Mina was grateful. Mrs. Colbert was filling out the paperwork. The teacher was writing off the incident as Ever bullying her and Mina defending herself. Mina hoped that the principal would buy it.

She came back in a short while later. "Okay, Mina. I was able to convince the principal to give you detention instead of suspending you. It also helped that the Story pitched in a little bit." she added. Mina was relieved. _Thank God_, she thought. Mrs. Colbert wrote Mina a pass to class. Mina went to first period and the rest of the day went smoothly. That was, until lunch.

During lunch, Nan brought up Homecoming again. "So Mina, Brody found out that Jeremy doesn't have a date." she said in a tone that obviously meant _you-and-Jeremy-should-totally-go-to-homecoming_.

Mina sighed. She never really explained to Nan to why she and Jeremy had stopped going on dates. Jeremy had been cool about it, and _guess why_. But he never had said anything about it after. Okay, he'd occasionally tease Mina about her and Jared in Physics, but it didn't bother him. Well, that was a lie. It _did_bother Jeremy at first, but he knew that Mina was interested Jared before they even started talking.

So he dropped it. He'd guessed her and Jared were like a new couple. And when Jared was in the hospital for so long, Mina started to- you know- get back out there. But now he was back, and they were trying to figure it all out. And Mina was okay with letting him think that. But Nan wasn't happy that she had possibly thrown away a potential relationship.

"Nan, please." she begged.

"What?" Nan asked, not knowing what she had done.

"Jeremy and I were just friends." Mina said in a tone that told Nan to drop it.

But Nan _didn't _drop it. "What's wrong with Jeremy?" demanded Nan. "I thought you two were really hitting it off." she insisted.

"We were...we did. It's just…" Mina shrugged. "Things happened."

Nan frowned, "Well, who do you want to go with?"

"I don't know!" Mina cried, exasperated. "No one! I don't want to go with anyone. There is no one in this school who I am remotely interested in going with."

Jared tried to ignore Mina's statement. He knew she didn't mean no one. He hoped, at least if things were different, she would go with him.

Mina was frustrated with Nan, and Nan was frustrated with Mina. Lunch afterwards was awkward, due to the silence between the two girls.

Things didn't get any better in English either. Ever literally looked like, if she could, she'd shoot lasers out of her eyes and annihilate Mina. Mina tried to ignore her though. Ever's nose was still busted.

Mina knew Ever would have rather slit her own throat before ever admitting that she was in pain, or even apologize to Mina about what she said yesterday. Mina debated on apologizing about punching her in face. She shouldn't have done it. She should have been the bigger person. But Mina really was sorry… but she personally believed that Ever needed to apologize to her first for what she said yesterday, before Mina apologized.

Finally, the bell rang for school to end. _God_, _the day went by so slow,_ she thought. She went to her locker, and was surprised to see Ever there. Mina hesitated, not knowing what do. _Maybe she's here to apologize_, Mina thought hopefully. Most likely, though, she wasn't. But Mina really hoped she wasn't here to start crap again.

"Hey, Ever." she said slowly, "What's up?"

"What's up!" Her eyes blazed, "What's _up_? 'What's up' is that you sic Jared on me!"

"Ever, I never sic Jared on you." Mina replied, her heart falling. How did she know that this was going to happen? "Look, please, Ever. I don't want to fight. And I don't want to-."

Ever interrupted her, "Well, it's too late for that!" She seethed. "Why are you so intent on making me out to be the bad guy!?"

"I'm not!" Mina retorted, "I don't understand why you hate me so much! I swear, I understand that you don't like me because I'm a Grimm, and that I killed Jared. But I brought him back! I thought maybe since I did that, you would at least silently loath me." Mina threw her hands in the air, exasperated "But all it's seemed to have done is make you openly despise me!" She was frustrated and ran her fingers through her hair.

Jared came walking up. "Hey, is everything okay?" He asked.

Ever glared at him. "No! No, nothing is okay." She seethed and stormed off.

"Ever!" He said, looking slightly disappointed, reaching out to stop her.

"No!" She whirled around to face him. Her voice trembled, "Don't touch me! Don't come near me! I... I don't want to talk to you!" She pushed him away and ran off.

Mina's heart fell at the look that crossed Jared's face. He was hurt. She knew he had to not be taking this well. He may not have loved Ever the way she loved him, but he still cared about her.

Mina reached out to place her hand on his shoulder. He stared at her and sighed. She frowned slightly and went to hug him. "I'm sorry if I made things worse." he laughed, but not like he thought it was funny.

"It's okay. I know you were just trying to help." she said reassuringly. He smiled and she smiled back.

"Come on, let's get out of here." she laughed.

He nodded. No one was left in the hallway, or really at the school, now. So Jared grabbed her hand. She smiled and moved in closer to him. Minutes later, he had driven her home. They were hanging out in the storage room. Mina was laying on the couch and Jared was on top of her. He kissed her.

"I forgot to ask. How was your day?" He asked, moving to kiss her neck and collarbone.

"Mmmmmmm…" she sighed, "It was unpleasant till you drove me home." She said, enjoying what Jared was doing. "What about yours?" She asked.

Jared kept on doing what he was doing with Mina's hands running through his hair.

"What?" He asked, clueing in that Mina had just asked him a question.

She laughed, "Distracted?"

He stopped for a minute, before he went back to kissing Mina's neck. "No...why do you ask?" He murmured, his hands dancing around the waistband of Mina's jeans.

"Well, I thought you were trying to create conversation, is all. And I just couldn't help but wonder if our current situation was too distracting." she laughed.

He did ask a question, didn't he?

"But why was it frustrating?" He asked, whispering in her ear.

"Ever with her thing, and Nan with Homecoming" she replied. Jared stopped what he was doing.

"Jared?"

"Hmmmm... Oh, I'm sorry." He stared off into the distance. "I'm sorry. Mina"

"Why?" She asked, confused. Why was he sorry?

"Because, if it weren't for me, you wouldn't be fighting with Ever and you'd probably be in actual relationship with that kid Jeremy. You could go with _him_ to Homecoming." Jared said, sounding slightly bitter.

Mina was kinda surprised at his statement. "Jared… Ever would hate me, regardless if you came back or not." He hung his head.

"And, yeah, I may have gone with Jeremy to Homecoming. But Jared, I don't want to go to Homecoming if I can't go with you."

Jared smiled and kissed Mina. It was sweet and light, yet it was passionate. As much as she loved kissing Jared in general, she loved these kisses the best.

These were the kisses that Mina lost herself in. Where she forgot how to breathe, how to think...it was just her and Jared. The things they wanted to say, but didn't know how, were always told somehow in these kisses. They finally came up back for air. He leaned his head against hers. They were breathing heavily.

"Hmmmm… I think I've got an idea" He said.

"What's your solution?" She asked.

"We can go together." He answered simply.

"What!?" Mina asked, confused. "Doesn't that go against the whole 'dating in secret' thing?" She questioned him, wondering if he'd lost it.

"Not if we go as friends." Jared said. Seeing Mina's face, he pointed out, "Nan wanted us to all go right?"

"Right." Mina said, her back arching as her boyfriend teased her.

"So, why don't we go together? It'd be easier on us. I could drive you to and from there, and if anything curse-related popped up, I'd be close by. It'd give us an excuse to be close to one another." he pointed out, sounding like a diplomat trying to compromise with another world leader.

Mina didn't know what to say between Jared's mouth and his argument. She couldn't think coherently enough to come up with a reason why they shouldn't do what he proposed.

"So, what do you say, Mina Grimm?" he asked, resting his chin on top of her stomach. "Will you do me the great honor of being my Homecoming date?"

Mina smiled and started laughing. "Yes." she laughed, "Absolutely, yes! There's no one I'd rather go with." Jared grinned widely as he slid himself up Mina and kissed her.


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

The rest of the night went smoothly. She finished her homework and actually got some sleep that night. Jared had to leave not too long after they had hatched the plan for them to go to Homecoming together.

The next day, as if on schedule, Nan talked about Homecoming again. She was talking to Mina about dresses and hair. Jared stared at the two girls. He was mentally comparing the two. He recognized that Nan was very pretty, but nowhere near as pretty as Mina. And he didn't know how Mina didn't see it. He could tell Brody noticed it from time to time, but Jared ignored it.

Mina was _his_ now. Jared didn't have to worry about Mina falling for Brody again as much as he did before he'd died. Finally, Nan got to the question he'd been waiting for. He wanted to play it cool, candid.

"So, do you guys plan on going?" Jared looked around. Nick was the first one to respond.

"I was thinking about it. There is one girl I want to ask, but I'm not sure."

Brody chuckled. "Is it that girl in your U.S. History class?" He teased, "What's her name? Elaine, Ellie? Or was it Evelyn"?

"Not even close, bro!" Nick said, laughing then punching Brody in the arm.

"Well, you can't just leave it like that." demanded Mina, "Who is it?"

"Her name is Elena, and she's really cool. We've been talking. And I don't know, I've thought about it, but I don't know if she would want to go with me" he replied.

"You should ask her!" Mina and Nan exclaimed at the same time. The guys all laughed at them. Nan and her frowned and rolled their eyes.

Everyone was enjoying themselves except Ever, who looked like Hell had run over her a few times. She had bags under eyes, as if she hadn't slept in days. Her eyes were slightly puffy, like she'd been crying. She looked empty and completely emotionally drained.

Jared noticed this and tried to engage in conversation with her. She had barely eaten her food. He slid over his fries but she pushed them away. He began to worry. She'd only been severely depressed once in her life, and that was when...

He shook his head at those memories. _No, that's not what's happening here,_ he told himself.

"So, do you have anybody you want to go with?" Nan asked Jared. She was staring at Ever, though, as she said it. Nan suspected they would be going together. Her question distracted Jared from his inner monologue. Ever looked at Jared hope in her eyes.

"What? Uh, no, I'm not really a fan of dances."

And, just like that, the little life that was in Ever vanished. Nan was surprised. She was sure he was going to ask Ever...

"What about you, Ever?" She asked. Ever just shook her head and played with her food.

"Well, then Nick, you need to ask this girl. Because if you guys keep this up, Brody and I will be going solo. And that's not fun."

Brody pretended to be offended. "Are you saying I'm not good company?"

"Yes. Yes I am." replied Nan.

"Well that escalated quickly." Nick said, laughing.

Nan smiled cheekily at her boyfriend, who rolled his eyes then looked at Mina.

"So, Mina, you're sure you don't want to go?" He asked hesitantly, "I mean, you don't have to have a date." he pointed out.

"And be a third wheel?" She asked, "No thank you."

Brody looked partially relieved, yet remorseful at the same time. It bugged Jared. _Dude, the Story picked a girl for you. Leave mine alone, _he thought.

"Or Mina could go with someone else who doesn't want a date." Jared said to no one in particular.

Mina stared at him, confused, but Nan jumped all over it. "Oh my God, Jared's right! Mina, you should do that!"

Mina looked at Nan as if she'd lost it. "Why would I do that!? Why would I want go with a guy who doesn't even want a date?"

Brody laughed nervously. "I think Nan meant that you would go with a guy as friends. Like, let's say you go with Nick as friends. NOT as dates." He said, emphasizing the _not_ part.

"But Nick's going to ask Elena..." Mina said, confused.

"I said I'm _thinking _about asking Elena. Never the less, I'd like to keep my options open." Nick replied, looking at Brody, who had suddenly become very interested in his food.

"Or..." Nan said coyly, "She could go with Jared." Jared smiled internally. He was hoping Nan would say that.

On the outside, Jared stared at Mina, who was gazing back. Everyone's eyes, except Ever's, were on them.

"Interesting proposal, Nan, but there's two problems with your statement." Jared said casually.

Nan frowned, not happy that things were magically falling to pieces, like it did in the movies.

"Mina doesn't want a date. And, as I said, I don't like dances."

Nan's attention became completely focused on Jared. She spent the next 10 minutes attempting to convince him to go to the dance with Mina. Like he didn't want to go with her in the first place; still, he acted like he was unsure.

"What is this, a meat market?" Exclaimed Mina, "I feel like I'm being advertised here! And Nan, I don't want to go with a guy who is going to need to be convinced to go with me." she said, glaring at Jared.

"Yes. Yes, you are being advertised and you're the prime rib." Nan teased. Mina playfully punched in the arm. Jared laughed at the two girls.

"Well, what do you say Grimm? Wanna be my date, but really not my _date-_date to the dance?" He asked, flashing her one of his heart-melting smiles. Everyone stared at Mina now, even Ever. She looked horrified at Jared's words.

Mina stared at him, trying really hard not to smile. "So, let me get this straight. It _looks and sounds_ like a date, but it isn't a date."

"Correct!" Nan blurted out, bubbling with excitement.

Jared and Mina looked at Nan, both cocking an eyebrow at her. She looked embarrassed for a moment.

"Oh...um, don't bother with me." Nan said, flicking her hand in shooing manner, trying to push them along in their conversation. "Pretend I'm not here." She looked like a predator staring at her prey. Mina was kinda disturbed at how much her friend was enjoying playing matchmaker over there.

Mina went back to looking at Jared, who was already staring at her again. "So, _you_ want to be my date?" She asked, dancing around the subject. Jared shrugged as if he didn't cared one way or the other; knowing perfectly well that he had never wanted anything so badly before in his life.

"Alright. But on one condition." Mina said, picking up the orange that was next to her and starting to peel it.

"Alright, I'll bite. What's this one condition?" He asked.

"Even though dances aren't your thing, you can't be a jerk and ruin my time at the dance if you suddenly aren't having fun or whatever. Got it?" Mina stated. She meant that too. She wasn't going to let Jared ruin her night. It wasn't like they were arguing as much as they did before. In fact, since Jared confessed his feelings for her, they really hadn't argued. They'd had misunderstandings, but not nearly as bad as it had been before.

Their relationship with eachother had gotten a lot smoother, like magic almost. _Wow, who would have guessed it_, she thought_, Communication fixing relationship problems_. Who knew?

Jared met her stare. "Alright, I promise I won't be a jerk."

Mina smiled. "Alright, then. Yes, Jared, I will be your date to Homecoming."

The end of lunch warning bell rang as Nan squealed, wrapping her arms around Mina's neck. Mina, who wasn't prepared and had been eating her orange, almost choked on it.

"Oh, whoops! Sorry, Mina." Nan said, still not letting go. "Oh my God! You have a date! Isn't this great!?"

Mina laughed, "Yeah, Nan. This is truly great." She felt something tap her knee. Looking down underneath the table, she saw it was Jared's hand. She slipped her hand underneath her and gave his a light squeeze. "But, Nan?"

"Yeah?"

"Would you mind letting me go, please?" Mina asked, uncomfortable now. Nan had a pretty tight grip around her neck.

"What?" She asked, confused; as if she didn't realize what she was doing.

"She means, 'let go and come on'. The bell rang." Brody said, sounding a little bitter.

Brody wasn't the only one who was disappointed by the events that had just unfolded. The minute the bell rang, Ever tore out of the lunchroom like there was no tomorrow. No one had noticed except Nick. He saw Ever dart for the doors.

Back on the Fae plane, Nick made it a priority to never get involved in the Royals life. They were all just a sick, messed up family. The King and Queen weren't exactly _beloved_ throughout the land. Teague had his own crazy, bizarre story. And, Jared- well, Nick didn't know much about him, except that he'd been banished young, and had been known to be quite the playboy. At least, if Nick was using this dimension's vernacular correctly.

What he _did_ know for sure, was that Jared and Ever were close back then... He looked over at Mina, half choking on an orange, distracting him.

"Oh." Nan said, realization dawning. "Sorry, Mina. I just got carried away." She apologized, looking sheepish.

"It's okay." Mina replied, reaching to grab her water bottle and washing down the orange that was stuck in her throat partially. Nick looked back to where Ever had run out and frowned. Then he looked back at Mina. He really liked her and thought she was a good person. Yeah, it was because of her he had basically died on the Fae plane. But he _had_ agreed to help her.

"Walk you to class?" Jared asked.

"Sure." Mina said. Jared got up to throw away his trash.

"What's wrong with you?" Mina asked Nick.

He laughed, shaking his head. "You're a brave soul, Mina Grimm." was all he told her, walking away.


	7. Chapter 7

**_*AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ok here is chapter 7, just wanted to say thank you to everyone for all the nice comments! :D just so y'all know I try to update often, and I will never leave y'all with some horrible cliff hanger, but I try to keep y'all at least on the edge of y'alls seats :) And a shot out to my wonderful editor and self proclaimed number one fan Jo Jo, Girl you rock! *_**

**Chapter 7:**

Mina just stood there. _Does Nick know about us?_ She wondered. _What did he mean by that?_

Jared came walking back. "Okay, you ready to go?"

"Hmmmm? Oh yeah. Yeah, I am." she said, then began walking with Jared.

"What were you and Nick talking about?" He asked curiously.

She told him what Nick had said, and he instantly became uneasy.

"Oh yeah. I noticed Ever didn't take it so well." Jared replied softly.

Mina acknowledged his discomfort and dropped it. "So, we're really doing this?" She asked.

He smiled at her "It seems so. You're stuck with me." Jared answered, winking. They turned down an empty hallway so they could be alone.

"Want to hang out at your house later?" He asked, leaning in close to Mina. She was pressed up against the lockers.

"You say 'hang out'." she said softly, giving her voice a sexy quality to it, "But all I hear is 'let's have sex'." She then laughed, smiling wide at him.

He had a vapid expression on his face for a moment, and then shook his head. "Wait... I'm sorry. What did you say? All _I _heard was 'let's have sex'." Jared replied with a grin.

Mina laughed, punching him in the arm. Then she wrapped hers around him. He leaned in to kiss her. It was brief, but concealed so much passion in it.

When he finally took his mouth off hers, she sighed, and put her head on his chest. She could hear his heart beating. It was comforting.

"Love to." She said, "But I can't. I have this project I have to work on. It's due tomorrow."

Jared frowned deeply, with his expression darkening sulkily.

"What?" Mina asked him, sounding a bit defensive, her head still on his chest.

"Why didn't you do it earlier?" He asked her somewhat grouchily, with a disappointed look in his eyes.

He had been hoping that they could hang out and watch a movie or something.

"I meant to do it last night, but this guy came over and distracted me from getting my homework done." She answered, teasingly looking up at him.

They broke apart and walked out of the hallway.

Jared shook his head and looked up at the ceiling, then back to her. He coughed in his hand, slightly smiling.

"Well, Mina- you know- you shouldn't let boys keep you from getting what you need to get done, done."

"Hmmmm… You're absolutely right! And next time he comes over I'll tell him that." She said, laughing.

"I'll tell him to go away!" She said, throwing her hand at Jared, as if she was pushing him back.

"I'll push him away and tell him to leave me alone!" She cried, dramatically throwing the back of her hand to her forehead.

"I'll shove him away from me, and tell him... '_No!_ I can't love you tonight! I must do my English essay!'" Mina said loudly, sounding like she was crying.

By now, they were at her class. Jared was trying really hard to not laugh at his girlfriend, who was acting like a dork. He shook his head again.

"_What_?" She asked, watching him from the corner of her eye.

"Nice to know that the Grimm Family sense of humor hasn't died yet." He replied sarcastically.

"Nah...that's going to passed on to our children, and then to our grandchildren, and our great grandchildren..." But she stopped midsentence, realizing she had said "our" instead of "her". As, like, in possibly her and _Jared's_.

He didn't miss it either. "_Our?"_ He asked her, raising an eyebrow, a soft smile tracing him lips.

"Duh.. da, er.. uh.." Mina became flustered, forgetting how to actually speak and sound intelligent at the same time.

He laughed and dropped his binder directly in front of them, so no one would see him grab her hand and give it a light squeeze.

She smiled up at him, her heart skipping a beat or two.

"I knew what you meant...but I wouldn't-…" He struggled with how to say it...

He wouldn't mind starting a family with Mina one day. If it had been anyone else before her, he would laughed in their faces, not caring how horribly mean it was.

But with Mina, he didn't know…

He _did _know, though, that he didn't want to live another day without her.

"I could see it as a definite possibility" he said.

Mina smiled up at him, looking slightly embarrassed.

"And, you know, if we decide to do that, I think we should practice doing the deed." he continued cheekily.

"We should?" She asked, chuckling.

"Oh yeah. Every day. And possibly twice a day, if we really want to get it right. You know what they say. Practice makes perfect." He said, winking at her.

Mina shook her head, "And you're _all mine."_ she replied sarcastically.

He smiled cockily, "And, besides, I think I'm an honorary member of your family."

"Oh really, now?" Mina asked incredulously.

"Yeah. I knew your great-great-great grandfathers, Mina. I mean, I knew your dad personally. I knew you when you were just a baby." He said laughing.

A memory danced in Jared's mind of little brunette girl running around, telling him to leave her alone as she was trying to "get her color on". He started to chuckle.

"What's so funny?" She asked.

"Just something you told me years ago…" he answered, laughing.

"Okay, Jared. That's creepy." She whispered. Which only made him laugh harder.

"Stop it! Stop it now!" She whispered, bursting into laughter herself. "That's so creepy!"

Her boyfriend knew her when she was just a baby or toddler. _That's so weird_, Mina thought.

"What?" Jared asked.

"I just realized I'm dating an old man." She said, teasing him.

"I'm not old!" He cried, horrified. He knew he was, but he wasn't, at the same time. She laughed.

"Hey, it's alright. You're my forever-young old man." She said, smiling.

He laughed, "I'm so going to get you for that, by the way."

Shivers ran down Mina's back. She wondered what he would do.

"Deal?" She asked, biting her lip in excitement.

"Deal." He whispered. They stared at one another. Jared really wanted to kiss Mina. She saw his frustration and grabbed his hand.

She had reached out. not really knowing what she was doing.

"This is me kissing you." She murmured, not entirely sure what she was doing.

He smiled and rubbed his thumb up and down the side of her hand. "And this is me, rubbing your back, kissing you too." He said, playing along.

She moved her thumb in a backwards 'C' motion, "And that's me running my fingers through your hair."

They smiled at another.

From the doorway, Mina saw Ever- though Ever couldn't see her. She sighed. Jared looked at her questioningly. She nodded in Ever's direction.

He looked and saw her. The pixie's head was down, she looked like she was in pain.

Jared sighed too, and looked back at Mina.

"Maybe you could talk to her." Mina suggested, "With me busy doing my essay tonight, you can hang out with her, and, you know, maybe work things out."

"You'd be okay with that? Me talking to the girl who was a total bitch to you the other day?" He asked, surprised.

"Yeah, sure. As long as your tongue and her tongue stays out of each other's mouths, and you keep your hands to yourself, I don't care."

He smiled at her and laughed, "Scouts Honor. I promise to be an absolute gentleman." He said with gusto.

"Good!" Mina laughed.

"But let me know when you're done with that essay." He told her, his eyes filled with mischief.

She smiled. "If we keep this up, I won't get a full night's rest ever again."

Jared smiled right back. "Who said that's a bad thing?" He asked, walking away.

Mina grinned to herself as she walked into class and sat down. Minutes later, the bell rang for 5th period to begin.


	8. Chapter 8

_**Authors Note: Thank you for all the lovely reviews! Some one said in a comment that they hoped I'd see this through and finish it, just wanted to say that unless like I die or like something really horrible happens, I finish everything I'm writing, so yeah y'all don't ever have to worry about stuff like that. Thats all I wanted to say :)**_

CHAPTER 8

The rest of the day went well for almost everyone except Ever. She just wanted to be left alone, and, quite frankly, didn't have the energy left to be nasty to Mina. She mainly slept through English class.

She was relieved when school let out. When she got home, she kicked off her shoes and crawled into bed, falling fast asleep. In what felt like seconds later, she woke up to a knock at the door.

Ever was confused. Who could that be?

She looked at her clock. It was 4:30 p.m. She slowly got out of bed, stretching. Yawning, she stood on her tiptoes and looked through the peephole. She nearly flipped out. It was Jared! Her heart was doing cartwheels. She ran to the closest mirror, fixing her hair and makeup. She heard him knock again.

"Give me a minute!" she called out. Once done making sure she looked perfect for Jared, she opened the door and draped herself across the frame.

He smiled at her, "Hey."

"Hey." she said, smiling back- then cursing herself. She was supposed to upset with him!

She shook her head. "What do you want?" She asked, crossing her arms.

He held up his hands. "Just here to talk, is all."

Ever was skeptical, but she let him in anyways.

"So, what's up with you?" He asked, sitting on the window seat. He lifted his leg up onto the seat, his shirt riding up, displaying a remarkable set of abs.

_Focus, Ever. Focus_. She told herself.

"Oh, you know- the usual." She said nonchalantly, which was a complete lie. But she wouldn't let Jared know that, if he didn't already. "What about you?" She asked.

"Uh, just got back from dropping Mina off at her house." he replied.

All of sudden, Ever wasn't in the mood to talk. She really wasn't before, but now she _definitely _wasn't. She skulked off to the kitchen.

"What's wrong, Ever?" He asked, knowing something was up.

"Nothing." she said, pouring herself some tea.

"Really? Why don't I believe you?" He asked her.

"I don't know. I guess that's your problem!" She exclaimed, annoyed. _Seriously, what the hell?_ She thought. Jared frowned at her. He got up and walked closer to her.

"Ever..." He said, using a tone of voice he knew would make her become squishy, and eventually break down and tell him what was wrong.

"No! Stop it!" She demanded.

"No. Not till you tell me what the hell is wrong." he replied, laughing a little.

"You know what? Why don't you go and just talk to Mina, because that's all you really want to do. You don't want to be here with me!" She screamed, her expression contorting into one of anger, making her nose hurt badly. She began to cry.

"Ever, what the hell are you talking about? I came here to see you, not Mina."

Oblivious to what Jared was trying to say, she kept crying.

"Why don't you go and hang out with your date!?" She snarled heatedly and began to walk away.

"Seriously? Is that what this is about?" Jared asked, looking partially disgusted.

She turned back around to face him. "Of course it is, Jared! What the hell did you think it was about?"

"I knew you were upset about something. I wasn't sure _why _you were so upset. I figured you were just angry because we haven't hung out lately. I didn't think that you were jealous of Mina."

"I am not jealous of that-." She stopped midway through her sentence. The look on Jared's face was of absolute fury and disgust. There was a look in his eyes that challenged Ever to finish her sentence, and then see what would happen when she did.

"I'm not jealous of her in that _sense_!" she said quickly, "But I feel like you never want to hang out with me anymore. It's always about her. She's all you ever talk about! You've been different ever since you got back!"

"Of course I've been different, Ever! I died!" He practically screamed, "And this whole idea of you not being important to me anymore is ridiculous." Ever looked up at him, with mascara running down her face. Her heart suddenly leapt for joy.

"You mean that?" She asked, sniffling.

"Well, yeah." he said, surprised that Ever didn't already know this.

Jared was thinking…"Ever, you will always be special to me." he told her earnestly.

Ever's heart began racing.

"What about Homecoming, then. Why didn't you ask me?" She demanded.

Jared knew he had less than a millisecond to answer this question, and he had to answer it in such a way that she wouldn't blow up on him.

"It makes sense if we go together. I'm her protector. And if we went together as friends, it'd give us an excuse to get close to one another, but able to keep our distance too. Ever, just because I'm hanging out with Mina doesn't mean I'm not your friend anymore."

Jared smiled internally. Pretty quick thinking, he thought. It was the biggest rationalization ever. Like hell, he'd leave Mina's side. But it gave him an excuse to be with her, which made him happy.

Ever sighed. Not exactly the answer she was looking for. But it was good enough, she supposed.

"Well, what do you want to do?" She asked, quietly looking down at the floor.

He looked her up and down. "Well, I would say let's go and get something to eat. But..." He trailed off. Ever reached up to touch her face and looked down at her fingertips. They were covered in mascara-stained tears. She became instantly embarrassed. God, she realized she must have looked like shit in front of him.

"I'll order something while you..." He trailed off. Ever nodded and walked towards her bedroom.

Jared was slightly frustrated. _Why couldn't Ever just..._.Ugh, he thought.

He knew he needed to be more patient with her. But, since he got back, he started to notice how Ever treated Mina. And it seriously bugged him. Actually, he noticed it at the beginning of the school year, when she would call Mina "gimp."

He punched in the number and ordered some pizza. When he was done, Ever came out. She was wearing an off-the-shoulder shirt. It was form-fitting with some tights.

Normally, Jared's mind would have been intent on getting Ever's shirt off by now. But he didn't care. He had no interest. He realized that he really _had_ changed. Whether it was because he had died, or because he was in love, or if it was because of Mina...which he was sure had a big part in it… He truly was a different man.

"So... what movie do you want to watch?" She asked, plopping herself onto the big, white couch. She draped herself across it. He shrugged. "What's on TV?" He asked.

"Not sure." she said, picking up the remote and turning it on. She flipped through the channels. Nothing good was on. And, by the time the pizza came, they had settled on watching _Premium Rush_.

They sat on the couch. Ever moved closer to Jared. She sighed, totally at ease. _This is how it should be,_ she thought. Just her and Jared.

The movie was decent. It was kinda complex, but not that bad.

It was about an ex-law student who works as a bike messenger. He ends up getting involved in this crime that deals with human trafficking, money, and dirty cops. It was all told in series of overlapping flashbacks that led up to the point where he gets run over. And then it told the rest of the story after that point.

Afterwards, Ever and Jared just talked. Ever casually tried to make advances on him, but it was like he didn't notice her flirtation or advances. It slightly annoyed her. But she got over it and started enjoying just talking to him. It had been forever since they just talked. Soft music was playing in the background.

They'd always talked before, but it had been the first time since, well- he'd been brought back out of hibernation- that they were hanging out platonically. It was a little weird for Ever, but not horrible either.

She mainly just enjoyed having his company. He even made an effort not to talk about Mina. Which was hard for him, because she was never far from his mind. He wondered, from time to time, what she was doing at the moment. Was she thinking about him? Finally, it was getting late.

"Wow, look at the time." Ever yawned. It was only 10 p.m., but it seemed like only three seconds ago it was 4:30.

"Yeah, well, you know what they say about time when you're having fun." he said, laughing. He was enjoying himself. He was slightly disappointed that he hadn't heard from Mina all night, though. She must still be doing her essay, he thought.

Ever laughed too. Then she was silent for a moment, listening to the music. She recognized the tune. She became super excited.

"Do you recognize this song?" She asked him.

Jared stared at her, and then listened to the song. He smiled.

"Of course I do." he replied with a grin. It was the song that he and Ever had danced to at ball, centuries ago.

"Well then, come on!" She cried, leaping off the couch. She tried to get him up too.

"Ever, no. Come on..." He complained, laughing.

Ever gawked, "You said you remembered!"

"I do! It's just been so long." he protested.

"Oh, come on! It's like riding a bike!" She rationalized, "Just because it's been years since you've ridden one, doesn't mean you forgot how to ride it!" She protested.

Jared shook his head. "Fine!" He replied, getting up. He wrapped his hand around her waist and took her hand. They danced to _their_ song. Ever was ecstatic. He dipped her and brought her back up.

"And you 'don't dance'." she teased.

"I don't!" Jared protested, "Honestly!" He laughed, spinning her around, "Everything I know, I learned from you, remember?"

She spun around and placed her hands on his shoulders, as he lifted her up by her waist. She pointed her toes and kicked her leg out. She smiled as he put her back down on the ground.

"You weren't _that_ bad!" She laughed, and she and Jared danced around the room.

He snorted, "Yes. Yes, I was. I just learned to not really move, and let you actually do the dancing."

Ever laughed. "What can I say? I love dancing!" She gushed, swaying to the music

"Then you should go to the dance!" Jared replied, thinking absentmindedly.

Ever stopped what she was doing. "What!?" She exclaimed.

"I said-." he began.

"No, I heard that!" She cried.

"Then why am I saying it again?" He asked, confused. _What's the big deal? She likes to dance, and you typically dance at a dance, _he thought.

"Well, I…" She broke off, lost for words.

He stopped and stared at her.

"Jared, please?" She didn't quite know what she was asking, but she was asking it all the same.

He frowned deeply, "Ever?"

"Look, I just... I just don't want to be alone." She told him, making up a lie. "Like, come on. I'll be the only one there without a date."

"You don't know that." Jared countered.

Ever wanted to say no. She wanted to tell him that she was not going to that dance. But all that came out of her mouth, though, was, "Okay, fine."

Jared smiled and placed his hands on her hips. Ever blushed a little, but Jared didn't seem to notice, and lifted her up off the ground, spinning her around the room.

She threw her head back, giggling. They continued on with the dance. The dance was like a tango and a waltz. It was_the Wango_. He spun Ever, and she danced around him.

She was graceful. Jared had always thought she was an excellent dancer. He watched her as she spun, dancing to the beat of the music. She went to spin herself back to him, but she ended up tripping on the coffee table leg. She fell hard- her ankle bending weirdly.

She screamed out in pain. "Ever!" Jared cried, reaching out to catch her as she stumbled and crashed into the glass coffee table. It shattered.

He ran to her. "Ever, are you alright?" She was hurt.

"Well, that so wasn't embarrassing." She mused.

"If it were anybody else; yes. But you made it look graceful." He joked.

She glared at him. "I guess we know why that dance routine is usually done in a big ball room, huh?" He teased.

"Just help me up, please." She pleaded. He nodded and grabbed her hand, pulling her up.

"Aaaaahhh!" She screamed in pain. She hopped on one leg, and then she screamed again. She was crying.

Jared picked her up and carried her to the couch. "Don't take me to the couch!" She exclaimed.

"Why not?" He asked.

"I don't want blood on my _white _couch." She told Jared, like he was stupid.

_Bleeding? _He looked down and saw Ever's ankle. It was blue and swollen, but she had glass stuck in her feet.

He carried her to her bed. He then proceeded to take all the glass he could find out of her foot. He propped up her leg and cleaned the broken, glass table, then vacuumed the floor. By the time it was all said and done, Jared was exhausted and wanted to go home. He went back into Ever's room. "Hey, I'm gonna to get going."

"Leaving so soon?" She asked innocently.

"Yeah." he yawned, "I need to get a shower and..."

"You can stay." Ever insisted, "Get a shower, and sleep in here..." Jared frowned. "Or on the couch." she finished quickly.

"Nah, it's fine. But thanks. I want to sleep at my place. I miss my apartment and my bed ...mainly my bed." Since he and Mina were secretly dating, he'd practically been living at her house. And he kinda wanted to be at his own place tonight, not that he didn't enjoy sleeping at Mina's. But, hey, everyone loves the comfort of their own comforter, right?

And if he had Mina in his bed, underneath that comforter...wearing nothing _but_ that comforter… and with him underneath it too, equally naked… well, then that would make everything so much better.

Jared saw for a very long, very cold shower when he got home.

Ever, on the other hand, was slightly confused. _Why would he miss his bed?_

But Jared began talking to her, disrupting her deepening thoughts.

"I'm going to head out." Jared told her. He walked over, gave her a hug, and left. Ever stared after him. She was disappointed he decided not to stay. But maybe this was the start of things getting back to normal, she told herself. She then settled down and turned the TV back on

.

Jared got downstairs to his bike. He checked the time. It was a quarter till 10. He sighed. Jared guessed Mina was in bed by now. He swore he was going to buy Mina a cellphone, when he felt a strange feeling.

_HEY, YOU STILL AT EVER'S?_

It flashed before his eyes. This was really strange.

_About to leave. Why?_ He thought back.

_Finished my essay and was wondering if you wanted to hang out? ;)_

_You say 'hang out', but all I hear is 'let's have sex'._ He replied, throwing her earlier line in her face.

_I'm sorry. All I heard was 'let's have sex'. _She wrote back.

_Did you already take a shower? _He asked.

_No... Why?_

_Because, I need to take a shower. I'm covered in broken glass..._

_Why? Are you okay?_

_Yeah, I am. I'm fine. It's just- you know- I need to take a shower._

_Yeah, you should! I'll just see you tomorrow then! :)_

Jared sighed. That wasn't exactly what he wanted. But, oh well.

_Yeah, alright then. See you tomorrow. Night! I love you... _he thought.

_I love you too! Sweet dreams, Jared. :D_

He smiled, got on his bike, and left Ever's.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter 9: Once upon a...

Ever looked around. She was home... She was sitting in a meadow. The sun was shining and there was a nice breeze. She smiled to herself. The pixie stretched and lied down in the grass, shutting her eyes, intending on sleeping for a little while.

When she heard the sound of children laughing, she opened her eyes. Seeing a butterfly, by she sat up and followed its path. It landed on a little boy. He laughed and jumped up and down, trying to catch it in his hands. Ever stared at the child, who looked oddly familiar. He seemed to be around seven or eight years old. His light brown hair was short and messy.

"Come on, Ever! Come and play?" He pleaded.

She gaped at him. Ever was astonished. "Max?" She asked, amazed.

He smiled at her. "Come and get me!"

Ever jumped to her feet. Her demeanor changing, she chased after her little brother excitedly.

"Come on, Ever!" He cried, laughing gleefully. He reached a dead end, and they ran all the way to edge of a cliff. As he was looking down, Ever scooped him up, giving him a huge hug. He smiled at her and hugged back.

"Aw, my little bear has grown up so much since I've been away." She said, trying to ignore the pain.

He looked at her. "I missed you too. We've ALL missed you." He said.

She looked at him. "All?"

Max pointed down, and Ever looked over with him. She saw her family beneath them; they were swimming in a lake. And Jared was down there too! Ever was excited to see him. Jared turned around and smiled, "Come on! Jump on in, Ever. The water feels great!" Max leapt in, splashing her sisters in the process, causing them to squeal.

Ever laughed, her heart bursting with joy.

"Come on, jump!" said Jared. She made up her mind and took a flying leap.

Ever hit the crystal waters a second later. Jared was right. It did feel great! She laughed and swam around a bit. She glanced at Jared, who was looking at her. Ever splashed water in his face. She was totally happy.

A mischievous look filled his eyes. He reached out and caught her in his arms. She playfully smacked more of the cool lake water at him. Jared looked down at her, lust filling his eyes. Ever's heart flipped-flopped. She leaned in to kiss him.

Then everything started to change. Jared even began to change before her eyes. He was growing in size, becoming giant. His features changed as well. He began to look a lot more like Teague.

He laughed cruelly. "What's wrong, Ever? Are you disappointed?" Teague scooped her up in his huge arms. Ever looked at him, horrified. He looked like a crack addict. The twitching in his eyes looked manic and lucid at the same time.

He tisked- tisked at her, shaking his head. "Ever, you're so easy to fool. You know, I think it's a tie between you and Mina. No wait, I take that back. Mina would have known something was wrong from the beginning, and she would have made Jared so proud." He told her, rubbing it in.

Ever scowled. "Oh, come on. Let's talk." He said, casually shrinking down to normal size.

"Why would I want to talk to you?" She asked venomously.

"Okay, okay. I understand. Besides, I was just going to ask you how it felt not being Jared's play toy anymore." he laughed.

"Excuse me!? I was never his play toy!"Ever was furious. "He loves me-"

"Not like you love him." Teague cackled hysterically. She stiffened. "Ever, let's face it. He's not in love with you. He's IN LOVE WITH MINA."

She shook her head. "No-" she began.

"Oh, please! Ever, you're second best. He said it himself. He always felt like something was missing in his life until he met Mina. He didn't feel whole."

Ever shook her head, trying to ignore what he was saying.

"You don't believe me? How about I just show you?"

Ever shook her head, willing herself to wake up from this nightmare. Not wanting to know what he meant by "showing" her anything. She jerked awake, sweaty and flushed. Ever searched her apartment wildly, looking for Teague. She was alone.

"Jared!" She called out, willing him to come to her. He always came when she needed him.

"Jared?" Nothing.

She lied back down on the bed and began to cry silently, entirely alone.


	10. Chapter 10

_**Authors Note: Hey y'all sorry for the wait, I've been super busy! But starting on Friday my Spring break starts so hopefully, please don't hold me to this, but I may be able to finish this story and start the next one...**_

_**Side Note- Ok guys meet Elena, lol she is character I made up, from here on out she will be in every fan fiction I write for this series, everyone on Pinterest seems to like here so I hope y'all will too! Go Nilena! (Nix+Elena)**_

Chapter 10: MEETING ELENA

The next day, Mina and the rest of the gang were hanging out at their table. It was lunchtime, and Nan was busy trying to go over their plans for homecoming. Jared smiled at Mina, as they were sitting next to each other, holding hands underneath the table.

"And Nick can… wait! Where's Nick?" Nan cried, alarmed. She stood halfway out of her chair, looking around the cafeteria. Mina rolled her eyes and pulled her back down into her seat.

"Leave him alone." Mina said, laughing.

"But- but he's supposed to be here!" Nan protested.

"Relax." Brody told her, bored. "He's asking Elena to Homecoming"

Mina and Nan stared at Brody and then at each other, grins spreading across their faces.

"Well, let's just take a moment of silence now for our friend Nick. We can pray that this Elena takes pity on him and...OUCH!" Jared griped, rubbing the spot where Mina had punched him. Brody didn't look impressed by Jared's joke. In fact, he looked kind of annoyed. He was about to say something, when Nan screamed,

"Oh my God! There they are!" She nearly leaped across the table. Again, Mina pulled her eager friend back into her chair.

"We want her to come with us." Mina emphasized, "NOT scare her AWAY."

Nan gave her a dirty look. Mina laughed and looked over at Nick and Elena.

Oh my God! Mina was sure her mouth was hanging open. God, she was gorgeous!  
Elena looked like a modern-day Jasmine. She was hot! She had this thick, long  
black hair and her legs were long, tan, and gorgeous.

She and Nick walked together towards their table. They were both not looking at each other smiling at the floor. Awe, it was so adorable!

And when they did look at each other, it was always when the other one wasn't looking. They finally reached the table.

"So who's your friend, Nick?" Nan asked, trying sound as if she didn't care.  
But, truthfully, she did; A LOT. Nan's face resembled a tiger's eyeing its prey.

"Elena, this is Mina, Jared, Nan, Brody, and Ever." Nick said, introducing them. "Guys, this is Elena, my date to Homecoming." He said, a grin spreading widely across his face.

Elena smiled, and the smile was radiant. It was so white and perfect. Her smile lit up the room, it seemed. It was reflected in her eyes, which were a beautiful dark brown. Her skin was tan and smooth, and she didn't have any blemishes upon her. She was also really tall, Mina thought. Nick was only a few inches taller than her.

In other words, he was just tall enough to where Elena- if she wanted to- could wear heels, but they couldn't be too high.  
"Nice to meet you, Elena." replied Nan, smiling at her.

"Nice to meet you too, Nan" she said.

Nick pulled a chair out for her to sit, and made a big show out of it.  
Elena blushed. "You're such a dork." she teased, sitting down, putting her purse beside her, along with her backpack.

"Yeah, but I'm a good-looking dork." Nick replied, a goofy smile spreading across his face.

"So, Elena, I have to ask. Did Nix beg you to go with him? Because I want you to know, you don't have to go with this guy right here." Jared said, pointing his fork at Nick. Nick glared at him.

"Actually," Elena held her hand to the side of her mouth, as if she was trying to tell him a secret, "I'm going with him out of pity. Shhhhhh! Don't tell him!" She whispered, smiling.

"Hahaha, very funny." Nick grouched, sounding annoyed. She laughed and nudged  
him. So, she was pretty and funny, Mina thought.

"So, Elena, how do you know Nick?" Mina asked.

"Well, it's kind of a funny story." Elena laughed. Nick put his face in his hands and rubbed his head. Mina looked at them.

"So I was sitting in English, and my desk is right behind the door. I went to go get up and turn in a paper, and Nick opened the door, causing the thing to slam in my face." She laughed.

Nick just continued to rub his head. Jared was snickering, trying not to laugh. Mina punched him again. "Again, ouch!" he complained sarcastically.

Mina smiled at him, "Please continue, Elena." she said, looking back at her.

Elena laughed again, and continued on with the story. Apparently Nick, who had been  
horrified that he opened a door on a girl's face, apologized to her over and over again. They also, as it turned out, had a lot of classes near each other. So they constantly ran into each other. And the rest was history.

Elena, Mina found out, was on track and was in the school's choir. She absolutely hated swimming, or really water in general. Which Mina found highly ironic, considering Nick was a nixie and loved the water. She loved baking and reading and she was extremely intelligent. Beautiful, intelligent, nice, and funny! Nick hit the jackpot, Mina thought.

Before they knew it, the bell rang for lunch to end. Nick got up and offered  
to carry Elena's backpack. She smiled and handed it to him. He held out a hand and Elena's smiled broadened. She happily took his fingers in hers, and they walked, hand in hand, out of the cafeteria.

Mina saw the envious stares that were being directed at the happy couple, from both her male and female classmates.

"Well, that was disgustingly sweet." Jared piped in sarcastically.  
"I know!" Mina replied, grabbing her coat. "Now why can't you be like that?" She asked him.

Jared glared at her. "Blame it on my royal upbringing." he answered dryly.  
Mina laughed and walked with him to her next class.


	11. Chapter 11

_***Authors Note: Sorry its taken so long guys. Thank you for all the lovely comments :D If to my followers on Pinterest y'all for the most part have read the chapter. But for anybody else if y'all are interested in seeing a picture of the dress I chose for Mina, along with her shoes and makeup its all on my Unenchanted board on Pinterest. If y'all are having trouble finding it, just let me know :D**_

Chapter 11: Dress Shopping

It had now been a week since meeting Elena. She had started sitting with them for lunch since Nick asked her out. Elena and Mina had really hit it off. She fit in perfectly with their little group.

Mina was now with Jared, trying on different dresses. "What do you think of this one?" she asked, picking out a ridiculous bright orange gown.

Jared looked horrified. "Sure, if you want to look like sherbet."

She laughed and put the dress back. Her and Jared proceeded to look at different dresses. Her boyfriend was being so awesome, she thought, putting up with her dress shopping. He even offered to buy the dress.

"You owe me big time!" He told her in a deep, husky voice.

"Jared, I don't know if I can pay you back." she said.

"Oh! No! That's NOT the type of payback I'm talking about." He replied, looking her up and down.

Mina turned fifty different shades of red, right there in the middle of the store.

"Oooo..okay." Mina stammered. She couldn't look Jared in the eye. This was a totally different experience for her. She'd never been physical with anybody before. Well, she was still getting used to the idea of it.

They went through dress after dress. She tried on a bright, neon yellow dress that was floor-length and clung to her body, flaring out at the bottom. She tried another on that was a silk material, but it was dark purple, and it was so cute! Except for the slit. Mina blushed when she saw how far the slit went up, which was to her hip. Jared was more than willing to buy that one.

She tried on another one that was floor length, blue and sparkly, and had a see-through sparkly top. Her chest and stomach, though, were covered in blue sequins. Jared loved that one as well. He loved the slit that went to her hip and the low back. Back? There was no back. Where the back began, the skirt of dress began as well. Mina rolled her eyes. By now, they had gone through what felt like a thousand dresses.

She finally tried on a red one. It was floor-length, and the skirts were a blood red. The top was like a thick, pantyhose material, and the sleeves went to her elbows. The area that covered her boobs, stomach, and shoulders were covered with velvet, 3D flowers. It was stunning. The only problem was the neckline.

It was really low.

"Come on, Mina. Come out." Jared said, sounding tired. She took a deep breath and stepped out. When she did, he nearly fell out of his chair. Mina's mom came in at that moment. Sarah gasped and covered Charlie's eyes.

"Does it look that bad?" Mina asked, worried.

Bad? BAD? Jared thought...No, no, no... You look amazing, he wanted to say. Jared couldn't help it. His eyes were locked on the incredibly low neckline. The dress literally made Mina a whole cup size bigger.

The dress, though, where it lacked in showing off Mina's butt, it more than made up in the neck area. In the back of his mind, he heard Mina's dad in his head… "Promise me you'll protect her from teenage boys." He'd asked.

Jared had promised to do so, that he wouldn't let any guy take advantage of her. And if they did, he'd make them pay.

But technically, he argued in his head, he wasn't a teenager. He was just Fae prince who looked like a teenager. So that obviously did not apply to him and what he wanted to do to Mina. The ideas that popped in his head...

"I need help undoing the dress." Mina said quietly.

Jared jumped out his chair, "I'll help you!" Mina and her mom looked at him in surprise.

He realized that he sounded a little too eager. "I'll help you untie that." He said again, coughing and trying to look innocent, instead of looking like he had dishonorable intentions. Which he did, but he loved her. So didn't that make up for something?

Mina looked embarrassed, while Sarah glowered at him. "I think I'll help my daughter out of this dress." she told him, her voice thinly veiling animosity.

As she walked past him, she whispered icily- "Don't forget a certain PROMISE you made to my husband years ago."

Jared wanted to argue that was for TEENAGE, human boys! Not Fae princes that happened to look like teenage boys.

But he knew if he ever wanted to see Mina again, and actually be alone with her, he needed to keep his mouth shut. So he nodded. It was probably for the best, he thought, as he sat down. Jared sat back and noticed Charlie.

"So, Charlie, what's up?" He asked. Charlie shrugged and Jared nodded, looking at the dressing room Mina disappeared into. But just thinking about her slowly undressing...

That's it. He was going to take a very long, cold shower when he got home.  
Mina was with her mom in the tiny room.

"Wow, did you see the way Jared reacted to this dress? He nearly fell over looking at your boobs." Sarah laughed.

"Yeah..." Mina replied, surprised her mom was handling it so well.

"I swear, I thought his jaw was going to break from it hitting the floor so hard." she laughed again.

"Mom!" Mina gasped. Okay, this was freaking her out. Wasn't her mom supposed to hate Jared? Hello, he was a boy after all... Mina laughed too. "Yeah, so did I." She said aloud as her mom undid the dress.

"So, what are the plans for homecoming?" Sarah asked.

"Well, we'd all show up at that new restaurant, down by the water...the Marinata..." She trailed off, quickly grabbing a hold of the dress her mom just finished undoing.

"Oh." was all her mom said, still busy trying to put the dress back on the hanger. Mina was putting on another dress. "Then, when we're done, we'll head over to the North Shore country club," she continued, while trying to put on a white cocktail dress.

It was so cute! Mina thought. The top was patterned to look like lace, and so was the bottom, with the band being a sheer material that had a train connecting that went to the floor, giving the dress a high-low look to it. On the band, it had a braided fleur-de-lis type thing on it. Mina swished around in it, feeling like a princess.

Sarah smiled nervously, "Let's try not to tempt Fate and go with a dress that looks like Cinderella's."

"This isn't Cinderella." Mina protested, "Cinderella was way more poofier" she laughed.

Sarah made a face at her daughter that sent her into fits of laughter.

She changed out of the dress and put her clothes back on. Once done, she exited the room. "Done?" Jared asked, surprised.

"Nah, we're going to go to a different store. Mom wants to find a dress this weekend, since there is two more weeks till homecoming."

Jared laughed. "You don't have to come along, if you don't want to." Mina added, thinking he must have been incredibly bored.

"Nah, it's cool," he said, smiling and grabbing her hand, kissing her on the cheek. Mina's insides quivered. Get a grip, girl… she thought.  
With a smile plastered on her face, Mina, Jared and her family shopped some more. She tried on dresses and took them off. Never finding the dress she really liked.

Then she finally found it.

It was perfect and gorgeous! It was a cocktail dress that went to her mid-thigh. She twirled around. It was a plum and off-the-shoulder dress. It was form-fitting and made of silk-satin material. Mina felt sexy and incredible.

The sleeve was like a cascading waterfall, reaching down to her hip. It was slightly ruffled, giving some texture to the dress. The edge of the sleeve was lined with small, silver beads. Mina was grinning from to ear to ear.

Mina's mom had her hand over her mouth. "You look gorgeous." She said in a hushed tone.

"You think?" Mina asked, smiling.

"Yes, Mina. And the best part," she said, smiling at the tag. "It's twenty dollars."

Sarah put her hands together as if she was praying. "Yes!" She said, relieved they found something stunning yet cheap.

Mina laughed, "Come on, go show Jared." Her mom urged. She nodded and went outside. Jared was talking to Charlie.

When he looked up and saw Mina, he stopped breathing. She looked breathtaking. He sat there stupidly, with his mouth slack-jawed. "You...you look amazing." he said, unable to take his eyes off her. The dress was formfitting, accentuating Mina's figure.

Mina was smiling. "You like it?" She asked.

"Like it?" He asked, standing up. "I love it." Wrapping his arms around her, he kissed her passionately. Mina kissed him passionately back. He lifted her off the ground and spun her around. She laughed, leaning her head against his; their noses were rubbing against each other.

They heard someone coughing to get their attention. Mina and Jared turned to look towards Sarah. She was giving them the parental stare off. Jared slowly put Mina down, looking slightly guilty.

Mina's cheeks were flaming. "Back away." Sarah said sternly. Jared gawked. "Step away from my daughter." she demanded, her tone deepening. Jared moved away, feeling sheepish. He was being stared down by woman who was way younger than him. He couldn't believe it.

"Mina, why don't you go change, and then we'll buy the dress and leave." Sarah told her daughter. She and Jared nodded quickly. Mina hurriedly ran into the dressing room and changed.  
When she came out, her mom was looking at them both. Mina didn't dare and grab Jared's hand. They walked side by side, casting each other sideways glances instead. Mina smiled.

"So when were you going to tell me, Jared, that you were secretly seeing my daughter?" Sarah asked coldly. Jared practically choked on air. He looked down, unable to meet Sarah's eyes. She shook her head.

"You know, the day James was killed, I cried and swore I'd never let you near my family again after you let my husband die."

Jared winced. He wanted to protest though. He didn't let Mina's father die. James threw away the Grimoire when it didn't work...Jared wasn't a miracle worker. He too had his limits.

"I'm sorry, Sarah."

She sighed. "It's a little too late for that, but I appreciate your sentiment. Just promise me that you won't let anything happen to her on the night of that dance. You're not just the Grimoire now..." She broke off, wiping away a tear. "You're the young man dating my daughter, who is taking her to a dance. I expect you to be a gentleman. And since you know about this curse, I expect you to be prepared."

"Sarah, I promise to take care of Mina." he told her honestly.

"Good." was all she said. Then Mina's mom walked towards the checkout counter to pay for her daughter's dress.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Author's Note: I WANT TO APOLOGIZE! I'M SORRY GUYS! I'm usually not like this I swear! I accidentally sent chapter 13 to my editor and not chapter 12. So we had to figure all that out! But because of that I'm posting chapter 13 as well to the story. While all of this has been going on, I've been doing college stuff, and I've just been extremely busy. Not like y'all need to know this but if this helps put things in perspective, I've only had 10 hrs of sleep in the past 3 days...yeah... Again guys I'm so sorry! I saw someone on my review board said that they check everyday to see if this story gets updated, I'm sorry. I know how depressing that is waiting for the next update. :( **_

_**On a another side note, this story will have total 31 "chapters." I'm currently up to chapter 26, so that means I just have to edit and those chapters and run 'em by my friend, some of y'all may know her Lady Jo? So yeah I'm going to try and have this up as fast as I can. So I can move on to the other fan fiction stories I've written for this series... those stories include (and they will be written in this order) Mina bringing Jared Back, Mina completing Cinderella, Beauty and The Beast (Don't worry Meague lovers (Teague + Mina) it's coming I promise! Just give me sometime, I've already worked out the plot line) A Grimm Family Reunion, Aladdin, and Peter Pan. XD I know thats a lot right? And you people also want me to read and write stuff for the Iron Butterfly as well? Well I guess its a good thing I can write fast and multi task...even though it doesn't seem like I do. **_

_**My last side note, since I'm so close to being done with this story from here on out I will not be posting anymore excerpts of TLM on Pinterest anymore. I will only be writing excerpts from other stories listed above and possibly other story lines, or one shots.**_

_**Thank you everyone, I hope everyone is having a wonderful day so far! R&R please! xoxoxoxo**_

_**Madaleine **_

CHAPTER 12: Make it Worth My While...

Mina and Jared were sitting at lunch again, and were talking about how their days had been so far. The rest of their gang hadn't showed up for lunch yet, which Jared insisted was a sign that they obviously should skip lunch and go somewhere where they could be alone. Mina blushed furiously, knowing what he meant. She told him that was out of the question, what if someone saw?

"Who cares?" He asked. He knew she was right, but right now he just really wanted her. Since Mina's mom now knew about them, she had a made a big show on making sure that Jared couldn't get really alone time with Mina.

Which greatly depressed him. It wasn't like he really got to be with her at school. But, eh, the things you do when you're in love. But, none the less, he had desires. And those desires were not being currently met at the moment.

Mina was trying to hold her ground. The idea of them playing hookie was so tempting. It wasn't like she didn't want to be "alone" with Jared. But she just liked doing that kind of stuff if she could get away with it, away from public eyes. And Jared and Ever weren't the only Fae who went to Kennedy.

What if someone who was against her family told Teague, or other Fae, and they took advantage of their relationship? Or worse, someone could spread it around school, effectively labeling her as one of those girls who was willing to have sex in the back of a car.

It also didn't help that she was eating a corn dog for lunch, "Stop staring at me. You're making me feel awkward." She teased, taking a big bite out of the thing. He glared.

"Wow. So is this a demonstration of the type of boys my mother always told me to stay away from?" She continued.

"I don't know what you're talking about." he replied.

"Oh, you know, the boys who only want to date me because they want me to have sex with them." she whispered.

"On the contrary, my dear," He stated, "Since we are dating, it means I'm emotionally and sexually attracted to you. So that means, yes, I want to have sex with you. But, no, it's not all that I want from you. Besides, I would in fact like you to do a little more than that." He said, winking,

Mina slowly became sick to her stomach. She put down the corn dog and pushed it away. He had a smug expression on his face.

"You wouldn't make me do anything I didn't want to do, right?" She asked.

He looked stunned, "Mina, of course not."

She nodded. "It's just, I don't..." She broke off, noticing Nick and Elena were coming. "Hey." she said to them, embarrassed.

They said 'hey' back. "So, no Ever again today?" Nick asked, sitting down.

Mina almost forgot. It had been almost a week since Ever's injury. A fractured ankle, plus the glass in her feet had caused a lot of cuts, so she had been home practically for a week now. God, no wonder why Mina's life had been so stress-free lately.

"Nope." Jared replied, leaning back in his chair. Nick nodded and looked down and saw Mina's corn dog.

"Mina, are you going to eat that?" He asked. She shook her head and pushed it over to him. He happily picked it up and began to finish it. Mina saw Jared's smug expression from the corner of her eyes. She was about to make a disparaging comment, but Elena's outburst distracted her.

"Crap!" She said, looking at her phone. They all turned to look at her.

"What?" Nix asked, his mouth full of corn dog.

She continued to look at her phone, "The dress I ordered doesn't actually have a bra built in. Long story short, my only strapless bra is ruined. I have to go out and get another one." She put her phone down and put her face in her hands. Nick looked uncomfortable, not sure how to respond. He swallowed the rest of the corn dog and rubbed Elena's back. She looked up and smiled.  
"So, what are you going to do?" He asked.

"I'm just going to have to go and buy one." She replied.

Mina frowned, "That sucks! Bra shopping totally sucks." Mina was staring at Jared, who was eating a fry. He looked at her, lifting an eyebrow, then picked up a fry and held it up. She made a face.

"Hmmmmmm. Can't you make it worthwhile for a girl?" She teased. He dipped it in ketchup and held it out to her. She opened her mouth and leaned forward. He smiled and he raised his hand to feed it to her, aiming everywhere but Mina's mouth. She raised her hands, grabbing hold of Jared's wrist.

He leaned forward, trying to shove the fry in Mina's face. Mina was trying to redirect it towards her mouth. They were laughing. Jared aimed for her eye, then her mouth, her cheek-

"Jared!" she squealed. He was laughing so hard that he was crying slightly. He finally relented. Jared got up and walked around the table and pulled out a chair next to Mina. She eyed him suspiciously. He held up the fry. Mina made a face then opened her mouth and he fed it to her.

Elena was laughing. "That was sooo cute!"

Mina and Jared became embarrassed.

"No! Seriously. It's not anything to be ashamed of!" She assured.

Nix was amused. "You guys were so sweet it was disgusting."

Mina was blushing insanely.

"So, Mina," Elena said, trying to change the conversation for her, "Do you have everything for the dance?"

She turned around to face Elena, "Yeah. Except I need to go and get a bra as well... and some shoes." she said. Elena nodded. "Which, by the way-" Mina continued, turning slightly towards Jared, "means we won't be able to hang out this weekend."

Jared scowled. "How come?" He asked, bummed.

"Because my mom said she can't take me to go and get it tonight, so it would have to be sometime this weekend."

"Mina, if you want, you can come with me today and get a bra." Elena offered.

"Seriously?" Mina asked, surprised.

"Yeah, sure." She said, smiling.

"Alright, thanks. I just need to tell my mom." Mina replied.

"Wanna use my phone?" Elena offered, her hand over her cell.

"Sure, thanks." Mina answered. Elena unlocked her phone and then handed it to Mina.

Mina tapped on the app and started typing out the message to her mom. Her mom asked all the basic parental questions. Like, who was Elena? And where would they be going?

Finally, her mom was okay with it.  
'Just come by the house tonight ok so you can pick up some cash' Sara replied.

Mina smiled. "Okay. My mom said that's cool. We just need to go by my house after school, if that's alright.

"Yeah, that's cool." Elena said.

"Great then. Thanks Elena."

"No problem." Elena replied, smiling. She looked up and saw Nan and Brody walking towards them. She made a face, which Nick caught. He started chuckling and Elena gave him a quick kick in the knee. "Ouch!" He said, rubbing his knee. Brody and Nan sat down.

"So, what are you chitlins talking about?" Nan asked.

"Homecoming." Mina said, not looking at her. She was staring at Jared, who was looking back at her. Elena fought back at grin. The sexual tension between the two of them was massive, she thought. If they weren't dating now, Elena expected that they would be after Homecoming. She noticed Brody from the corner of her eye, watching Mina stare at Jared. He looked bitter. Serves him right, she thought.

"Yeah, Mina and I made plans to do a little shopping this afternoon." Elena said. At this Mina looked up and smiled.

"Oh." was all Nan said. "Well, Mina, did you want to go dress shopping-"

"Already have my dress." She replied, cutting Nan off. "Elena, you want to go look for some shoes while we're at it today?" She asked.

"Yeah, that sounds great."

Mina smiled, "Okay then. So, sounds like a plan. Where did you want to meet up?"

Elena pondered. "Uh, how about the entrance?"

"I'm down with that." Mina tore her gaze from Jared and looked at Elena.

"Excellent!" Elena replied, smiling. They both started laughing.

Mina's attention fell back on Jared. She looked up at the clock. 15 minutes till lunch ended. He was staring. She was looked up at him, smiling coyly.

"Oh, crap! I forgot. If I'm leaving with Elena after school that means we can't go do the… thing!" She stammered.

Jared looked confused for a moment. "Oh yeah, the thing. We should probably go and do that now." He said, understanding what Mina was trying to do.

"You're right. We should. Catch up with you guys later?" She asked, standing up and grabbing her bag. Jared got up and grabbed his stuff, and they both proceeded to walk out of the cafeteria.

Elena smiled. "What just happened?" Nix asked, reflecting the look on Nan's face.

But it was clear to both Elena and Brody, though, what had just happened.

Once finally out of sight, Jared immediately wrapped his arms around Mina. "Really? You couldn't have come up with something better than 'the thing'?" He teased.

"I really couldn't think of anything at the moment."

He nodded and smiled crookedly. They turned down their usual hallway. Looking around, he gently pressed Mina up against the lockers. He kissed her, their mouths clumsily searching for each other. Mina ripped her mouth from his, and she walked into the bathroom to make sure no one was there. The coast was clear. Mina turned back around. Jared was waiting.

She smiled. Sliding her fingers through his belt loops, she pulled him inside. The door slowly closed behind them, and when it clicked shut, a sign appeared on the outside…. "Out of order: Do Not Come In."


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13:

Jared was at Ever's place. He was trying to help her with her math homework. As he was helping her, his mind kept on flashing back to Mina and him at lunch earlier that day. He was trying to concentrate, honestly, but hormones were getting the best of him.

"Ever, why don't you work on this problem while I go to the bathroom?"

She nodded, and Jared got up and walked towards the restroom.

Ever was moving the math book closer to her, and, as she did, she accidentally knocked over Jared's stuff. Crap, she thought as she bent over and picked up the books. As she did, something flew out of one of Jared's personal books. She picked it up and flipped it over, then dropped it immediately, like the thing had burned her- which only caused more stuff to fall.

Crap! She slowly bent over to pick it all back up, then swallowed hard. It was a picture of Mina. Ever's heart was racing. There were plenty of reasonable explanations as to why he had a picture of the Grimm…

Ever stared at the picture. It was the type of photo that developed and came out of an old-fashioned Polaroid camera. Mina was wearing one of Jared's sweaters, with black tights and brown leather boots. She was slightly hunched over and was blowing a kiss at the camera, or at whoever was using the camera to take the picture…

"Kind of disappointing they weren't nudes, right?" A sarcastic tone asked. Ever whipped around and saw Teague lounging on her couch.

She glared at him. "Get out." was all she said. He ignored her and got up off the sofa.

"What you need is proof." Teague replied, sitting down next to her at the table.

"What are you talking about?"

"Proof. Proof, my dear, to confirm your fears." he told her, smiling.

"And what fear is that?" Ever asked, crossing her arms.

"That Jared and Mina are- how do the kids put it these days? An item. Hooking up." Teague said, the corners of his mouth curling upwards.

"Nu-uh." Ever argued, "Not possible. Jared would never date a-"

He gave her a look of extreme pity. "I find Mina attractive Ever." Teague said, as if he were speaking to a three year old. "And if I think she's attractive, I guarantee you that Jared thinks she's attractive."

Ever shook her head. "No, you're wrong. Jared wouldn't do that." she insisted, though, who she was trying to convince, she couldn't tell anymore- and Teague knew that.

"Who are you trying to convince here, sweetie? Me or you?" he taunted.

"Shut up!" She screamed, "You're just jealous and angry that Jared is more liked than you." Teague sat back and began to watch Ever rant, "Jared is sweet and kind and he would never do anything to hurt me like that!"

Teague leaned forward into the table. "I think you're forgetting an eensy weensy teeny little detail," he said, pausing for effect, "HE'S A GUY!" Ever glared at him.

"God! What did you honestly think was going to happen?" He asked. "Did you think that once the curse was over, you would be able to go back with him, get married, have kids, and have a happily ever after?"

Ever winced at the truth of his words. Teague noticed and he laughed, finding it hysterical. When he finally stopped, he leapt up from his chair sending it backwards.

"Let me remind you, Ever, that is not how this works. Jared and I are bound to this infernal, blasted curse." He spat at her. She looked horrified. "So, when this curse ends, that means Jared and I will cease to live!"

"Don't act like I haven't thought of that!" She spat back at him.

"Oh? So what did you think was going to happen then? No, wait. I think I already know. It had something to do with the Grimm's producing heirs continuously like hogs to the slaughter." Teague said, disgusted. Ever gawked at that.

"Plus, allow me to impart some words of wisdom. So, let's say this curse never ends. Do you realize what Jared goes through every time a Grimm dies?"

Ever shook her head slightly.

"It nearly kills him. Their screams haunt him, Ever." he snarled. "So how do you think he's going to take it if Mina dies? He isn't going to take it well at all." Teague told her flatly.  
"He's going to spiral into a depression."

"No he won't! You don't know that!" She defended.

"Yes he will, Ever. You just haven't been around to hear it." He said, getting frustrated. He felt like he was talking to a wall.

"Prove it" she replied.

Teague held up his hand, and a yellow envelope magically appeared. "Alright." He said, smiling.

Ever gasped, and he threw the envelope across the table.

"I swear that everything I give you is the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. So help me God." He mocked. At that moment, Jared walked back in.

"What the hell?"

"Jared! What a lovely surprise." Teague said dramatically, yet mocking Jared at the same time.

"What are you doing here?" Jared demanded.

"What? Can't a guy drop in to say hello?" He asked, shocked, pretending to be hurt.

"No." Jared replied heatedly.

Teague stared his brother down. "Alright. Maybe I'll go and talk to Mina... Hmmm, I wonder if she's still bra shopping. Ever's being boring anyways."

Jared's eyes were bulging, but he gritted his teeth. He knew his brother was just trying to get a rise out of him.

He looked over and saw Ever was holding a picture of Mina. His heart started racing, and Teague noticed.

"So, bro, are you going to explain why you have a picture of Mina in your book?" he asked. Teague wasn't dumb. He knew about them. But what was the fun in saying that out loud? The answer was no. There was no fun in just simply coming out and saying that he knew. It was fun, though, to see his brother squirm and dread, wondering if he knew about them.

He stared up at Jared, with childlike, innocent eyes- which was ironic, since Teague was anything but innocent. Jared walked over to the table, ignoring Ever's stare, and started to collect his stuff. Ever watched him, her eyes wide like a cat's.

Jared finally turned towards her. "May I please have the photo back?" He asked curtly.

Ever was shell-shocked, almost. She didn't move.

"Ever, please?" He asked, sounding thin. She looked up at him and silently handed the picture over, but didn't let go of it. Jared grabbed it, but he had to pull it out of her hands. She never realized that she had that strong of a grip on it.

He gently placed the picture back in the book and closed it with one hand.

Jared took a deep breath. "I don't have to explain myself to you." he told Teague.

The ends of Teague's mouth started to curl again. "Oh! It's not me you have to explain this to." he replied, enjoying every moment of what was happening. Teague didn't want to leave, but he knew that if he wanted anything to happen, he needed to leave the two of them alone.

He chuckled darkly, ringing in Jared's ears. Then the Dark Prince disappeared. His image slowly faded, like the Cheshire Cat. First it was shoes, then his legs, his torso, then his arms and shoulders. His face and head were the final things that disappeared. And the last one was the Cheshire Cat smile across his face.


	14. Chapter 14

**You've got some serious explaining to do...**

Jared breathed a sigh of relief. He threw his hands in the air, running his fingers through it and rubbing his face. He looked at Ever, who was staring vacantly at the textbook before her.

"Boy. Am I glad he's gone. Right?" He said. Ever didn't say a word. "Ever, are you okay?" He asked.

Ever looked up at him. "Why didn't you answer the question?" She asked slowly.

"What?" Jared asked, surprised.

"Why didn't you answer his question!?" She cried.

"Because it's no one's business…" He began, but she interrupted him-

"No one's business!?" She questioned. She looked up at him, misery coloring her eyes. "It's not just your business." she ranted, "It's everyone's business. It's MY business, if you're..." She broke off.

Jared was taken back, "No, it's not!" He objected. "You're making a big deal out of nothing!" He gestured with his hands.

"Really?" she interrogated, "Then why didn't you just tell him why you had the picture!?"

He stared at her. "If you must know, that picture was taken by Charlie. This past weekend we were out by some nearby woods. Charlie took the picture and it's one of the many he took that day."

"I thought," Jared said, placing his hand over his heart to emphasize himself, "I'd be a cool guy and take it to him. Ever, you know why I didn't explain myself. If I did, he would have twisted my answer and made everyone's lives hell. Like what he's doing right now!" He said, exasperated.

"Well, it just makes you sound really..." she swallowed, "bad." Her voice shook. Everything he was telling her sounded like bullshit.

"Are you saying you don't believe me?" He challenged.

Yes, that is exactly what I'm saying. "No," she said out loud, "It's just, you sound as if you're hiding something." She told him, crossing her arms.

"Well, I'm not. So, if you still need help on your math homework, can we please get back to it? Or if we're done, can I please go home? Because I have my own homework I have to do."

"I still need a little help, with factorization, please." she said quietly. Jared sighed and sat down. They proceeded to finish up on her work. Finally, when it was all done, Jared got up and left.

"Sorry about everything earlier, Jared" she said, "You know, I just worry about you. I don't want your brother using something against you. Or you to get stuck back in the Grimoire, you know." Ever stared at her feet.

Jared sighed and walked over to her. "Ever, I understand why you were worried, but let me assure you that you have nothing to be worried about." He said gently. Jared gave her a hug and then walked out the door. Ever sighed, running her fingers through her hair. She saw the envelope Teague had left and picked it up.

Should she? No! She put the envelope down and looked away. Then she hobbled back into her room and got ready for bed.


	15. Extra: Chapter 15: Girl Time, Bra Time

_**Author's Note: I wanted to develope Mina and Elena's relationship and in 13 I think, I wrote that Mina and Elena were going bra shopping giving Jared a good excuse to be with Ever for the two chapters that followed. I thought that the shopping trip would be a good starting point for Mina and Elena to start off on, in becoming good friends. Someone wrote a review saying that they loved how Elena has been catching on to Jared's and Mina's "secret relationship." That is absolutely true, Elena is very perceptive and has been noticing the little things, that have been going on in this story, and that is shown in this chapter. In a way Elena reflects my personal opinions on the series, I didn't just create her so Nix could have a date to the dance. I mean if that were the case, I would have had him take Ever. But what fun is that? Besides the way Ever treated Mina at the beginning, does she deserve sweet and kind Nix? The answer is no...LOL. **_

_**Anyways this chapter has nothing to do with the over all plot of the story, but I thought it would be great to show who Elena's personality, as well this was just a fun chapter to write. So you don't have to pay any real attention to it.**_

_**To anyone who follows the story and got the notification for Chapter 14 and it was just a series of Snap Shots, I apologize. I honestly don't know how that happened, but it is fixed. If you didn't read it because of that, and skipped over it.**_

* * *

**Extra Chapter 15: Girl Time, Bra time...**

Mina and Elena were in Dillard's looking at the different bras. Mina had sixty dollars. She had thought that it was ridiculous, that her mom gave her that much money. Her mom laughed at her. "You'll need it, trust me." was all she had said. And she was right. Jeez, everything was expensive.

She looked over the racks for Elena. She found her near the dressing rooms. The wall adjacent to the changing rooms was covered in strapless bras. Mina hadn't found anything, which frustrated her immensely. She slumped her way over to Elena. Elena laughed when she saw Mina's face.

"You okay?" She asked.

"No," Mina said, laughing. "Honestly, I feel like a failure for not finding a bra."

Elena frowned, "Don't. As you said earlier, bra shopping sucks." Mina nodded. "Here, what size are you? Maybe if we work together to find something in your size, we can get this done faster." she offered smiling.

Mina smiled back. "Alright!"

They started to look through the different racks. Mina was trying to separate everything. Why are bra hangers so damn confusing? She felt guilty for cursing, but seriously. It was such a pain, she thought. Like, no matter what you do, you can never put the bra back on the hanger the way it was before. And then the straps go everywhere, and it's just a mess after that. As Mina leafed through the different bras, what happened next was catastrophic. As she pushed aside a bra, one of its straps was connected to the plastic thing that was holding 6 different brightly colored thongs together. Mina unknowingly pushed it with enough force to cause it to break, sending bright neon yellow, blue, pink and green lacy thongs up into the air. Mina's eyes bulged and she tried to grab them.

"Hey, Mina. Wh-." she broke off, seeing Mina trying to pick up the fallen lingerie. When Mina saw Elena, she turned instantly red. Elena tried really hard to not start laughing, but she was failing miserably. Mina face-palmed, but stopped herself, realizing she was about to bury her face into neon pink, lacy underwear. She looked absolutely horrified, which sent Elena into fits of laughter.

She tried to recollect herself and got down on the floor. "What happened?" Elena asked. Mina sighed and told her what she'd done. Elena tried really hard not to smile, but she was failing miserably.

"That sucks! At least no one was-." Elena broke off when they heard a high pitch sequel of laughter behind them. It was Savannah and her cronies. Elena and Mina glared.

"Awwww, isn't that cute," Savannah cooed. "Grimey's shopping for lingerie. But I'm afraid you're in the wrong section. The clearance section is over there." she motioned with her hand.

The girls glared at her. "Savannah, bite me." Elena said flatly.

"I really don't know what I did to deserve such animosity. Well, at least, from you." Savannah replied in a dismissal tone. She stood there, towering above them, when a sales assistant came by.

"Can I help you with anything, ladies?" She asked in a perky voice. Mina and Elena shook their heads.

"I actually was wondering if this," Savannah said, motioning to underwear she was holding, "was truly on sale?"

Mina lifted an eyebrow at the underwear, if you could call it that. It looked like neon pink dental floss strung up on a hanger. The sales lady looked at the tag. "I'm sorry ma'am, it's not. It must have been put on the wrong rack." She told her apologetically.

"Oh, it's cool." Savannah said, smiling.

"Is that everything?" The saleswoman asked. They all nodded. "Alright then. I'll be over there if anybody needs anything." She said, pointing to the register. As the lady walked away, Savannah's smile, turned into a look of disdain, and she carelessly tossed the thong back on the rack. "So not worth the price." she muttered.

Elena smiled, "Of course not. Why would you spend so much on bright neon pink dental floss? I'm sure you make your own for a lot cheaper." Mina was slightly sickened, and at the same time she laughed, at the image of Savannah wearing dental floss as underwear.

"You're right, Elena. Why should I spend so much on something that I know will get ripped off me anyway?" she said in a superior tone.

"Oh, so you're admitting you're a slut now?" Elena smiled.

Savannah looked annoyed. "I'm not a slut! And you, Elena, need to watch your mouth!" Her voice raising a few octaves.

"Make me!" Elena retorted, getting in her face, "We all know the type of girl you really are." Her eyes narrowing.

The sales lady returned, "Ladies, this is your first and only warning." she said in a warning tone, "If you continue to keep on fighting, I'm going to ask you to leave." The girls looked around at one another.

Savannah shook her head, and stormed off, leaving her confused cronies to chase after her.

Elena fumed. "Gawd! They make me so angry!" She growled, shaking her hands in frustration. Mina nodded her head. "Besides, why anyone would want to see a snake like her naked is beyond me."

Mina snickered.

"I'm sorry about that." Elena apologized, "I shouldn't have jumped the gun like that."

"It's alright." Mina commented, as she put the underwear on top of the rack and sighed. "She's right, though. I can't afford most of this stuff."

"Well, why on earth would you want neon thongs anyways?" Elena replied.

Mina smiled and laughed. "Oh God, no! I don't want neon colored anything! But, let's face it," she said, picking the thong up and holding it out, "I'd look sexy in this!" She exclaimed, sticking her tongue out.

Elena burst out laughing, and Mina smiled and put the underwear down.

"Oh my gosh, that was great!" Elena laughed, then finally collected herself and sighed. "Well, do you want to keep on looking?" She asked.

Mina shrugged, "Might as well."

Elena nodded. "Well then. Let's get started. What type of bra do you need?" She asked.

"Mainly strapless." Mina said, and Elena scanned the racks. They looked around the whole section. Mina eventually came across a really cute bra. She gasped. This was probably the first time ever that she found a bra and immediately thought "I want this!"

It was strapless, black, push-up that was covered in black lace, and was in her size. She stared at it. It was so freaking cute! Elena came around the corner, carrying a basic black strapless.

"Hey-." She broke off when she saw the bra that Mina was holding. "Okay," Elena said, waving her hand in a circular motion, "That is so cute!"

Mina blushed, "You think?" she stammered.

"Um, yeah!" Elena said enthusiastically. "Is your size?"

"Yeah..." Mina said offhandedly, still staring at it.

"Have you tried it on?" She asked in same tone of excitement.

"No..." Mina tore her eyes from the bra.

"Why not?" Elena was confused. If she liked it, and it was in her size... why not try it on?

"Well, because..." Mina began to argue, but couldn't think of a valid point on why she shouldn't try it on.

"Because why?"

Mina became flustered, "Because, this isn't for me! This for someone who's sexy and confident..."

"And that's not you?" Elena asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Well, yes and no. I mean like this-" she said, holding up the bra, "is meant for you to show to somebody, not hide it..."

"So?" Elena laughed, "Wear fabulous underwear, Mina, even if you're the only one who will be seeing it!" She said, smiling.

Mina blushed, "But..."

"BUT nothing! Girl, if it makes you feel great about yourself, then do it! Yeah, we all have the boring, basic stuff. But you deserve to feel sexy!"

"But I've never worn anything like this before..." Mina stammered.

"Well then, put it on!" Elena urged, pushing her to the changing room. Mina laughed and walked to the room. She turned around and laughed at Elena, who was smiling at her assuringly. Mina smiled and closed the door. She sighed and began to take her shirt off and tried on the bra. When she was done adjusting the straps, she stood back and looked at herself in the mirror and gasped. She felt really sexy. Like, Elena was right, she did feel more sexy and confident wearing this! And it fit her perfectly. She twirled around in front of the mirror to make sure she was seeing it correctly.

She heard a knock on the door. "So, how does it fit?" Elena asked.

"It looks great! Like, I really just want to show you!" Mina laughed and put her hands to her face, her index fingers resting on the side of her nose. She was laughing, and she felt like a complete dork. "Is that normal?"

Elena laughed, "Ha! Yeah. At least, for me it is. When I have a cute bra, and I feel really good, I want to show the world too!" She laughed. "So, does that mean we found a winner?" She asked.

"Yes!" Mina replied happily.

"Awesome!" Elena exclaimed. "Come on, now. We've got to find something for me!"

Mina giggled, and she reluctantly took it off and put her bra and shirt back on. When she got out, she saw Elena sitting in a nearby chair. "Ready?" She asked.

"Ready!"

Mina and Elena searched for her own things. They eventually found a bra for Elena, and even found the matching set of underwear to Mina's bra, which Elena somehow talked Mina into getting as well.

"Why should I get something that is not necessary and I plan on showing to no one? I mean, I'm not going to the dance with my boyfriend and plan on being alone with him afterwards... I'm going to the dance with Jared as friends."

"You two are just friends?" Elena asked, raising an eyebrow. Mina stiffened. She didn't look at Elena. Elena giggled, "Look, if you don't want to talk about it..."

"It's not that..." Mina protested.

"Well then, what is it?" Elena asked gently.

"It's just...well..." Mina stammered.

Elena shook her head. "Do you like him?" She asked bluntly.

Mina nodded enthusiastically.

"He likes you too" Elena said confidently.

"You think?" She asked, playing with a strand of hair.

"Yeah, he does." Elena laughed, "Trust me." She said, winking.

Mina smiled broadly.

"So, if you two like each other, why aren't you dating?" Elena eyes widened as she demanded. Mina realized that Elena was very expressive.

Mina sat there, silently, not sure how to answer. "There are so many different reasons. Like people wouldn't like it if we were dating.."

"People? Like who? You're not exactly the kind of girl that mothers would look at and think. Ah ha!" She said, her eyebrows raising, and shaking her finger at Mina- "There's the little hussy who's trying to divert my son from his destined path and ruin his life..." She said dramatically.

Mina laughed.

"Or do you mean people like Brody and Ever?"

Mina was half shocked, "Brody?"

Elena laughed, "Yeah, Brody! He likes you. He may not know what to do about it, since he's with your best friend. But I can guarantee that their relationship will not last long."

Mina was in shock. "Oh, well. I mean, he's not really one of the reasons. Ever, though, is one of the issues."

"Yeah, she's a little bit possessive of him, isn't she?" Elena said, resting the side of her face in her hand, looking upwards.

"Yes, she is!" Mina blurted. Elena looked at her. Mina felt embarrassed.

"Girl, I don't blame you! If some girl was trying to take my man! Girl, I'd be telling you to hold my earrings! 'Cause there's about to be a throw down!"

Mina was laughing hysterically at Elena. They both were laughing loudly over to the counter.

When they got to the counter, Elena and Mina were wiping tears from their eyes.

"That was priceless!"

"Thank you, Mina! I try." She said with a little bow. They bought their stuff and headed towards the door.

"You know, Mina, you shouldn't let this moment pass you by. If you like Jared and he likes you, you two shouldn't be afraid to show it because of what other people may say or do. And about the whole bra thing- even if you don't show Jared- that feeling you had back in the changing room, that feeling you had about how happy you felt about yourself. That's okay. You should feel like that. And if a certain bra and underwear makes you feel that way, well, it's okay to buy it. As long as you're not going overboard."

Mina smiled. "Thanks, Elena."

"No problem! And if you decide to show Jared that-" She said, pointing to Mina's bag, "he'll probably die!"

Mina laughed. "He probably will!" She said, smiling.

"Uh, yeah. Duh! And if he doesn't appreciate you, then he can go and take a hike! He should die! Not just because you're in black lace. You could be in granny panties and a t-shirt bra, and he should still die! I'm sorry if I'm making you feel uncomfortable, by the way." She said, turning her head slightly towards Mina.

Mina shook her head. "No, I'm okay. It's just I've never talked about this stuff before with a girl."

"Really?" Elena asked incredulously.

"No. I mean, I moved around a lot when I was younger. I had one friend named Lilly from where I used to live. But this is one of the few places that I've lived in for a long time. And the only friend I've had here- up till last year- was Nan." Elena made a face, but nodded. Mina laughed.

"I understand." Elena said.

"What's that face for?"

"Oh, nothing." Elena tried to cover up.

"It's alright. You can tell me." Mina said.

Elena sighed, "I just get this feeling that Nan doesn't really have much experience with guys."

Mina nodded.

"And well, I think that's painfully obvious in their relationship. I just... I don't know. I don't think that they are truly meant for each other. It all seems too forced."

Mina nodded, but didn't say anything. She dropped the subject, much to Elena's relief.

The whole ride home, Mina and Elena talked about the random little things. When Elena finally dropped her off, Mina was convinced that she and Elena were going to be best friends. And if Nix and her broke up- well, Nix would have to put up with Elena sitting with them. As long as it didn't make Elena feel awkward, that is. When she got inside, her mom asked her if she had a good time shopping with Elena.

Mina smiled, "Yes, yes I did."

* * *

_**Author's Note For Followers of Jared and Mina's Snap shots and Teague's POV Snap Shots and About a Future Snap Shot of Brody Walking in on Jared and Mina:**_

_** Someone wrote that it would be hilarious to have Brody walk in on Jared and Mina...I actually have imagined many scenarios of that happening! I'm going to have to get them up here for y'all, because I think they are hilarious...**_

_**Last thing, for people who follow the Jared and Mina, and Teague POV one shot's- since they are just one shot's, they are unfortunately not on my top priority to get them up here. However, that does not mean I do not write them, I post them on my Pinterest board. You'll be able to tell which ones are the one shots or as I call them Snap Shots verses the fandom pictures- the descriptions are a lot longer. If your dying for more, message me and tell me that you want to follow me on there, so you can get your daily craving of steamy, funny, cute, or depressing a.k.a the one shots about Sarah losing James (Mina's dad) Even though I am in school, I try to write something at least once a night, and I will go back and fill in and write stuff later. The only thing that I ask, is that you tell me if you read my fan fiction on here, so your following me on there. They will be out of order and all over the place, so you will have to look for them. I hope that makes sense. I don't know if anyone really cares, but I'd thought I'd let y'all know why I haven't updated them. **_

_**I hope y'all are having a wonderful weekend? Thank you for the lovely reviews! R&R!**_

_**Madaleine**_


	16. Chapter 16

_**AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hey y'all! how is every one doing? Are y'all having a good week so far? If not, I'm sorry :( maybe this chapter will make you happy? If you're having awesome week, well I hope this chapter only makes it that much better? Lol quick note, everything after this happens really fast! In the beginning of this chapter its the Monday before homecoming, and then ends on Wednesday. R&R!**_

_**Madaleine**_

* * *

Mina looked around. The whole school had been preparing for homecoming. She was becoming excited. She had her dress and a matching set of underwear. And Elena and her went out the past weekend and picked out a pair of shoes. She had everything except the tickets to the dance. There were banners that said stuff like, "Go Hawks!" and "Break the Chargers!"- aka- the rival team. Everywhere she looked there was school spirit; girls whispering about their homecoming plans, and guys whispering about after the dance plans...

She turned around to see Jared walking up to her. "Got our tickets." he said.

"Great!" She replied. She became confused when she saw only one slip of paper in his hands.

"Where's mine?" She asked.

"Oh, they wrote our names down on the RSVP type thing and they gave me this."

Mina looked down at it. "I guess you're supposed to keep it for scrapbooking purposes. I don't know, beats me." He continued.

Mina stared at thing-

CLASS OF 2014'S ~UNDER THE SEA~ HOMECOMING.

"So, an 'under the sea' themed dance." she commented.

"Yeah, I suppose so." Jared shrugged.

"So, are you excited?" She asked.

"About what?"

"The dance?" She laughed.

"Oh! Well, yeah I am. Especially since I'll be taking you." he said, smiling, Mina blushed. "I just hope it's not like last time." he joked.

"Not every dance is like that!" She replied, laughing. Memories of last year's dance ran through her head, "Besides, you've been to dances before. You know how it is."

"Actually, no. I've been to balls, not dances." Jared corrected her.

"Is there a difference?" She asked him. They walked down the hallway, towards Mina's first period.

"Yes." He said, "For one, balls are waaaaaay more formal! And two, you don't- how does this generation say it? Grind?-at a ball."

Mina was trying to keep herself from snorting, she was laughing so hard.

"That type of stuff is just frowned upon where I'm from." He finished dryly.

Mina was laughing even harder than before. Down the halls, they passed Ever. Jared smiled at her.  
She smiled back.

"Hey, Ever! You're back!" Mina said, trying to sound friendly.

Ever slightly frowned. "Yeah, I'm back." she said politely.

"Well, that's good." Mina smiled. Hey, if Ever was going to be a bitch to her, she'd at least be the better person.

"So, you're still going to Homecoming?" Mina asked.

"Yeah, I think so." Ever said uncomfortably.

"Great," Mina replied then looked at Jared. "I guess we'll fill you in with the plans for what's happening Saturday?"

Ever nodded.

"Cool, see you then." Jared said happily. Ever watched them walk away down the hall.

* * *

Lunchtime came around much faster than Ever expected. She had been thankful that Jared had given her some of her schoolwork to work on over the week while she had been gone. Her ankle still hurt like a you-know-what, but she was trying to put on the facade that everything was alright.

But immediately at lunch, she was plunged into depths of Nan's bridezilla-type planning of Homecoming.

"So, this Friday, we're going to the game, and then on Saturday- since the dance is at 7 pm- we'll have dinner no later than 6 pm at the Marinata. Got it?" Nan said in a rush.

Ever nodded. Mina came to her rescue, "Nan, stop it! She just got back. Stop bombarding her with all these questions!"

Ever wanted to glare at Mina and tell her that she didn't need her to stick up for her. But she was grateful that Mina had said something. She mumbled a thank you towards Mina, who smiled. Ever looked at Mina. She really was beautiful in a way, she thought sadly.

Nan shook her head. "I was just trying to help." she said defensively. Mina rolled her eyes and laughed.

"Ever, do have everything?" Elena piped in, trying to help.

"I need a ticket." Ever admitted.

"I can pick up that for ya." Jared said.

She looked over at him, "You sure?" She asked.

"Yeah." Jared said, like it was no problem.

"Okay then. Thanks guys." Ever said genuinely. This time, lunch went well for Ever. She was actually enjoying herself. Everyone had been going out of their way to at least make sure she was okay. Mainly Jared, who had been worried about Ever walking on her feet. He didn't want her to aggravate her injury.

When the lunch bell rang, Jared walked with Mina and Ever to their 5th period. Ever couldn't stand for very long so she opted to go into class early.

"You know, you're being awfully nice to Ever today." Mina teased.

"What? So what if I am?" He taunted.

She laughed. "I just think it's sweet, is all." she smiled.

He smiled back, "I have my moments."

He gave Mina a hug and went to class, just in time before the bell rang for 5th period.

* * *

Mina sat in homeroom. Brody was in front of her.

"Can you believe how fast this week has gone by?" he asked.

Mina nodded, "Yeah, it's crazy. I can't believe that it's Wednesday already." Mina looked around, "So what are we even doing in here?"

"We're going to vote on homecoming king and queen nominations, and announce who's going to be the upper/under class men princes and princesses." Brody said, rolling his eyes.

Mina laughed, "Well, we all know who is going to be our junior prince." She teased.

Brody gave her a pointed look. "Yeah, I guess." he said.

"What? Are you not okay with that?" Mina asked, surprised.

"No. I mean, it's okay… it's just-"

"It's just what?" Mina asked gently.

"Everyone always picks me, and I don't know if it's because of my looks, or because of my family, or if they actually choose me."

Mina nodded, "You don't feel like people choose you for who you are."

He nodded, "Exactly! It's why I like hanging with you and Nix. I feel like- around you guys- that I don't have to be Brody Carmichael. I can just be Brody."

Mina noticed that he didn't mention Nan. Elena's words echoed in her mind. Mina put her hand over Brody's. She was about to say something-

Brody held his breath, waiting for Mina to say whatever she had on her mind, but the loud speaker cut her off. Brody groaned, but Mina didn't hear him.

"Alright, Kennedy Hawks. It's time to vote for our 2014 Homecoming Court. Teachers, if you would be so kind as to please pass out the ballots."

Mina's teacher started to pass them out. When Mina got hers, she grabbed a pen and looked at the ballot. There were three other guys' names along with Brody's, and four girls' names- two of them being Nan's and Savannah's.

She looked up at Brody. "Do you want me to vote for you?"

He sighed, "You can. It doesn't bother me. It's just, you know, like I said earlier..."

"Well," Mina said, "I like you out of all the candidates, and I voted for you for class president."

"You voted for me to be class president?" He asked, surprised.

"Well yeah. I liked you out of all the candidates. Besides," she teased, "Your looks helped you out as well." Mina winked.

Brody laughed, though he couldn't look Mina straight in the eyes. She smiled, circling Brody's name, and then proceeded to circle Nan's. "I'm surprised Nan was nominated."

"So am I. Has she ever been nominated before?" Brody asked. Mina shook her head.

"Well, that's cool. She's really nice...Like you don't already know that though."

Mina chuckled and handed in her ballot to her teacher along with Brody's.

Brody and Mina talked the rest of the period, laughing and teasing each other like good friends would do.

* * *

Later on that day, over the announcements, the principal announced their Homecoming Court.

"Alright, Hawks. Let's give a warm round of applause to this year's Homecoming court. This year's freshman princess is Sarah Trawdoski."

"Our sophomore princess is Amy Barnes."

"Our junior princess is Savannah White, and our Junior prince is Brody Carmichael."

"Finally, our Senior Homecoming King and Queen are Matthew Smith and Lauren Trong."

Mina punched Brody in the arm in congratulations. Nan hugged Brody.

"I'm sorry you didn't win." Brody said to Nan.

"It's alright! I'm so happy you won!" She squealed.

Everyone congratulated Brody in the hallways. Mina laughed as his teammates tackled him.

He tried to throw them off. While he did, he noticed Mina had started talking to Jared. His blood ran cold. He couldn't explain it, but he knew that there was something going on between them. He just didn't know how serious they were. He tried to make his way back over to Mina. But, by the time he had, she already had wandered off with Jared.

Brody sighed in frustration. There was something he was missing. Something he was forgetting. Something huge. But he didn't have the faintest clue what it was. What he did know, though, was that it all was connected back to Mina somehow...


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note:**

**Guest : **

**Ugh dude you have Nan... Liked the chapter. It's sweet how Jared's looking after Ever. I honestly think they're better with a brother-sister type relationship. Not even considering Mina at all I think that's how they should be. But anyway I'm still wishing Brody walks in on Jared and Mina even just kissing. Oh Mina..you don't realize how your making Brody think you like him... Can't wait for homecoming. I feel shit is gonna go down. Somehow I was kinda hoping Jared and Mina were king and queen or whatever but I also didn't think it would happen. Please update soon!**

* * *

**Guest:**

**Loved all the chapters. Jared pretty much screwed his life up lying to Ever cause eventually she'll find out and be really pissed. I loved the Elena/Mina chapter. It was funny and light hearted. The part with Savannah was the best lol. I think Elena being so observant is good cause someone has to notice Brody likes Mina besides Jared. Please update soon!**

_**I don't know who you two are, but my god you have no idea how hard I was laughing at y'alls comments. But it was for good reasons! I'm sorry but I was confused by the first review from above, on their comment on Nan. Are you upset that I have her in the story? Or by the way she was acting in this chapter? I was just wondering, but that one statement, is one of the reasons I was laughing. That statement alone summarizes my feelings about Nan. I do have a scene though of Brody walking in and seeing Mina and Jared, and I promise that I will try to get that up soon for you. Haha I thought I'd let y'all know that your comment made me smile is all.**_

_**Madaleine **_

* * *

It was game night. Mina walked into the stands. She was surprised there were so many people!

"Isn't this exciting!?" Nan squealed.

Mina nodded. Brody and Nix were behind them. "Come on. Let's find a seat." Brody urged.

Mina glanced at him. He looked _really_ good. He was wearing a suit for when he had to go down at halftime. It was ironed and crisp looking. It sounded strange, but it was true. Mina tried to keep from staring. Hey, she may have loved Jared, but who could resist a good-looking guy in a suit?

Mina and Nan nodded. "Where's Elena?" Mina asked.

"She's over there, talking to her brother and his girlfriend. I think..." Nix said, looking uncertain.

"You're not sure?" Mina teased.

"Well, I'm not sure if he's her brother or if his girlfriend is her sister. But I do know that they all live together."

Mina nodded. She noticed Elena from the corner of her eye. She was wearing white jean shorts and a gray top with a navy hoodie; gold bracelets on each wrist. She looked stunning, of course. The guy next to her was pretty hot too. He had that whole tall, dark, and handsome thing going for him. He was tan with black wavy hair. It looked like it hadn't been brushed in a while. His smile was surprisingly white and straight. The girl next to him was gorgeous! From what Mina could tell, she had long, thick black hair. She was wearing a turquoise shirt and jeans. She was like Elena but shorter. They were all laughing and walking over slowly.

Mina watched them walk up the steps. "Hey, Elena!"

Elena smiled. "Hey!" She said, walking over to Nix and giving him a hug and a kiss on the cheek.

"Guys, I want y'all to meet my friends- Al and Jasmine." She said, motioning to the couple before them. They all stood there for a moment till Mina made the first move. She held out her hand, "Nice to meet you two." Ali and Jasmine shook her hand. The both said it was nice to meet them as well.

"Well, shall we go and find some seats?" Ever asked, standing close to Jared. They all nodded. By the time they found seats, it was already three minutes into the game.

It was an overall good game. Brody was the only one who actually knew what was happening. Apparently Brody's family were avid football fans. Jared and Mina had a semblance of what was going on. Mina wasn't a huge fan of sports, but she wasn't an idiot when it came to them. She cheered her team on. She was getting caught up in the game. Mina was catching on quickly to what was happening. She only had to ask Brody a couple times what was going on, or to explain a particular play.

Everyone was having a good time, even Ever; though she mainly talked to Jared the whole time. Nan admittedly was bored. She tried to understand what was happening, but she couldn't hear well over all the screaming and cheering. But she knew the basics. Touchdowns were good for her team, interceptions were bad. Pretty simple. She was content to talk among her friends.

Before the second quarter ended, Brody got up and straightened his jacket, "How do I look?"

"Great!" Mina, Nan, and Elena said. Even Ever said he looked good. He smiled.

"Catch you guys later." he said, walking down to the field. Jared had his arms around Mina. Mina was content as she wrapped her arm around him as well. She looked over at Elena, who was next to her. Elena winked at her, to which Mina giggled.

Indeed, love was in the air. Elena was resting her head on Nix's shoulder while holding hands. Al and Jasmine were doing the same. Ever was slightly bitter, although Jared wasn't ignoring her. The way he looked at Mina was filled with care. He would gently push her hair out of her face. He would cast fleeting glances at her. In what seemed like seconds, the football game was almost over. All they needed was one touchdown. Which was accomplished with a minute to spare.

Everyone but Ever jumped to their feet- screaming and cheering- excited that they won the game.

"Will you drive me home?" Ever asked Jared.

He hesitated, "Yeah, sure. But I also have to drive Mina home."

"Well, that's okay." Ever said, smiling.

Jared nodded, "Okay then."

Ever opened her mouth to speak, but he turned around to go and tell Mina. Ever closed her mouth and stared at Mina and Jared. He walked up behind her, as she was talking to Elena and Nix. Ever felt dejected slightly, till Jared came back.

"Where's Mina?"

"Oh, she'll be here in a few minutes. I'm going to go and swing the car around. Wanna come with? Or do you want to wait here?"

"I'll go with you." She replied immediately.

He smiled. Her heart skipped a beat. "Then, my lady-" Jared bowed extravagantly, holding out his arm.

Ever giggled and took his hand. They walked to his car, talking about the little things. Ever was happy.

"You sit in the front."

"Really?" Ever asked, shocked.

"Yeah." Jared said, smiling.

Ever grinned, pleased that Mina would have to sit in the back. Jared drove the car around to Mina. She was laughing and chatting with Elena and her friends. When she saw Jared, she gave Elena a hug and said farewell to Jasmine and Al.

She smiled at Jared and Ever and climbed in the back. Once she was buckled in, Jared started to drive off.

"That was a good game! I thought we were going to lose for a little while there." Mina said finally.

Jared nodded in response. Ever sat there and thought about it. Truthfully, she thought it was boring, but she had to admit, "Yeah, that would have sucked if we had lost."

Mina nodded, "Is there anything like football where you two come from?"

Ever and Jared looked at one another. "If you're asking if we play quidditch, then no." Ever snickered.

Jared glared at Ever, but Mina wasn't affected by her comment. "Well no. I just meant, what are the sporting events like back on the Fae plane? Every civilization- at least in this dimension- has had sports or sport-like activities."

Ever nodded.

"Besides, if I wanted to be offensive, I would have asked if your people had flying contests to see who could dart faster. Or do Fae joust?"

Ever was annoyed with her comment. Her wings fluttered furiously. Jared laughed, but was silenced by the look Ever shot him.

He coughed uncomfortably, "Well, um, I guess there are some things that you could consider like sports." Mina nodded, listening to Jared. "There's racing, and, um, croquet..."

"Yeah, but that didn't become popular until your family started playing it because of Alice in Wonderland," Ever commented.

Mina stared at both of them.

"Some ogres have traditions. At least, until the Ogre Wars, they did."

Mina was intrigued the Ogre Wars? What was that? Besides- you know- ogres and wars. She was about to ask, but Jared's discomfort was painfully obvious.

"Like ripping each other from limb from limb."

"So… ogre wrestling, pretty cool." Mina commented. Jared rubbed the back of his neck. They had stopped at a red light. Mina slipped her hand through the headrest and grabbed his hand. He sighed and held one of her fingers in his hand and relaxed a little a bit.

Ever felt uncomfortable by the silence. "Can we turn on the radio?"

"Hmmmm? Oh yeah. Sure." Jared said, shaking his head and letting go of Mina's finger, putting his hands back on the wheel. Mina sat back and leaned her head against the window. Jared watched her from the front seat, smiling.

Ever turned on the radio. 'Your Kiss' was on, by Hall and Oats. Mina smiled. Her mom had once told her that this was her and Mina's father's song. Jared smiled.

"What?" Ever asked.

"Oh nothing. It's just I remembered something, is all."

"Okay, so are you going to tell us?" Ever asked, laughing.

"Oh, this was Mina's parents' song."

"Really?"

Mina became tense. She felt a pang in her heart at his memory.

Ever went to change the station.

"You don't like the song?" Jared asked, noticing.

"No. I don't really understand why people like it. He just says 'your kiss is on my list'. And I thought you didn't like it either."

Jared looked down at the steering wheel, "Yeah, I didn't at one point. But I guess I found out recently what he's talking about. The emotion he's talking about in the lyrics. And it's changed my view on the song."

Mina smiled.

"Oh?" Ever said, "Are you saying some girl's kiss is on your list?" She asked, leaning towards Jared. Mina saw the fury in her eyes.

Jared didn't notice, of course. "Yeah, you can say that." He pulled up to Ever's apartment. "A girl's kiss is on my list." He said softly. Mina's heart skipped a beat. Ever was confused, "Oh, this is my place."

"Yeah." Jared said. Ever looked like she wasn't entirely sure what was happening here. "Do you need help getting up there?"

"No, I can fly."

"Okay then. I had fun." Jared said, "And I guess I'll pick you up tomorrow?"

"Yeah." she said, "So, I guess this means goodnight?" Ever looked up at Jared, searching his face for some sort of sign.

YES! That means goodnight! So... GET OUT! Mina thought, but she didn't say anything out loud. She set her jaw and pretended to look out the window.

"Oh, okay then. 'Night Jared." She gave him a hug, and he hugged her back. Ever felt reluctant to let go.

Mina was bugged by this, but she wasn't going to get pissy over it. She definitely didn't like seeing Ever hanging all over him. Ever gave him a kiss on the cheek and then got out.

Mina stared at him, tapping her foot. Jared couldn't look in her the eyes, "Mina-"

Mina leaned forward, "Drive."

"Mina, wait-" Jared protested.

"Jared, take me home, please." She leaned around the seat, twisted Jared's face towards her with her index finger, and kissed him. He sighed as her lips brushed his.

"Does this mean I can still possibly stay the night?" He asked, turning around, his hand rubbing Mina's back.

"That depends on how fast you get me home." She whispered against his lips.

"I can have you home in 2-5 seconds... give or take, depending on traffic."

"Well, what are we waiting for?" She murmured, smiling against his mouth. He grabbed Mina's chin with his fingers and tilted it upwards. His tongue boldly swept across her mouth. Mina groaned in pleasure, feeling weak. He finally broke away.

"Then let's get you home."


End file.
